Counterpoint
by TheDutchess34
Summary: Rose is a reporter for the Daily Prophet working on the scoop of a lifetime. Scorpius works for his father and is battling his own personal demons. They reconnect and become friends but quickly realise they may be able to help each other. Will they be able to uncover the truth behind the sinister Brotherhood of Taranis? Rated M for language. Chap 9 is up.
1. Chapter 1

**A little idea I've had rattling round in my head that I thought I would upload. Some Hogwarts flashbacks from Scorpius PoV and 'present day' Rose. Flashbacks to Hogwarts are in italics. And off we go!**_  
_

o0o

**_2017_**

_Nervous... that's how he feels. Sick to the pit of his stomach.  
Unacceptable. _

_He gazes impassively round the small train compartment at those who share it with him.  
Still, the sick gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach grows.  
He closes his eyes and allows the rhythmic sound of the train to lull him.  
Feigning sleep for a while will allow him to gain composure._

He is a Malfoy. There can be no trace of weakness.

o0o

_**10 years later...**_

"Rose!"

"Yes?" She snapped irritably, glancing up at the unwelcome intrusion.

Peter gulped audibly and paled slightly. In a flash he is forcibly reminded of a wildlife documentary he watched on his muggle grandparents television when he was a child. A lioness stalking her prey through the grasslands, steely focus, no mercy. The antelope skittish and nervous. A short chase, a bloody end, there was never any doubt about the outcome.

Well _he_ won't be lunch today. He took a step back.

"The chief wants to see you..." He sees her eyes narrow, he chickens out, "Erm... something about the ball tonight... I'm not a hundred percent sure... you may want to um..." He lets his voice trail off and he backs away gesturing vaguely towards the office of their Editor in Chief. Her lips pursed, she holds his gaze as he backs across the office and finally turns scuttling off to his desk.

"Shit!" She exclaimed kicking the side of desk in a fit of temper.

"Put a sickle in the box!" sighed Lorcan leaning across their shared desk and raising an eyebrow in the direction of a bright red container with the words 'Rosie's Swear Box' scrawled across it in large gold letters.

Rose transfered her glare to him but he met it steadily. "Your New Years resolution, not mine!" he smirked.

Without breaking eye contact she reached into her draw and picked a sickle up and dropped it into the box, then rising from her seat she turned her back and stalked away.

"You're going to have to do it Rosie!" Lorcan called after her retreating form. He sniggered as she turned and gestured rudely at him.  
"That counts for the box too." He yelled and then chuckling to himself, he returned to his work.

Rose strode across the office, mentally going over her reasons for avoiding tonight's ball whilst simultaneously playing out the finer details of the Bulstrode story which was where her real interest lay.

"Look Chief, I really think we need to rethink this whole ball thing..." She began. Rpse never bothers to knock on the door of her Editor in Chief's office, but barrels in already in full flow. "I mean, bloody hell, it's just going to be a bunch of self congratulatory, pretentious, posh tossers patting each other on the back. Nobody's interested in reading it, so send Abigail. She wants to cover it and I really think I'm on to something with this Buls-" She suddenly registered the presence of others in the room. "Oh Fuck me!" She finished abruptly.

Ernest Ramshackle, long suffering Editor in Chief of the Daily Prophet stood at his desk massaging his temple with one hand and giving her a look of immense irritation. Sitting at his desk and staring disapprovingly at her are Horatio Zabini and Alfred Burke current patriarchs of their respective pureblood families and two of the three filthy rich sponsors of tonight's ball.

"Rose?" Ernest grinds out, his eyes boring into her skull.

Merlin. She's surprised her head hasn't exploded.

Unrepentant and amused but unwilling to further embarrass her boss, she groped for a way to make it better. "Erm... Pete said you wanted to see me about the ball tonight? Obviously... ahem... we need to have a word about that _other_ ball that's coming up next week that Abigail wants to cover, but... we can do that any time!" She gave them a bright smile and pushed the fiery red curls that are constantly falling in her eyes out of her face. She fought the urge to laugh, which always seemed to happen in awkward situations.

Ernest stared at her. His fingers increased the pressure to his temple, perhaps imagining that if he pressed hard enough he will wake up to discover that the last five minutes have been a dream.

Someone cleared his throat behind her and Rose jumped. Up until that point she had been unaware of any other person in the room. She swung around and noticed someone lounging against the wall behind her. "Malfoy?" She snorted disbelievingly.

He stared at her with cool grey eyes, his lips pulling upward at the corners in an expression of haughty amusement that she dimly remembers from the corridors and classrooms of Hogwarts.

"Weasley." He acknowledges, stepping forward, taking her hand and raising it to his lips in a brief kiss. He looks at her inscrutably. He is wearing an immaculate grey pinstripe suit with a waistcoat and a crisp white shirt that looks expensive. His blonde hair is slicked back in his trademark style.

She removed her hand looking confused and unimpressed. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

He raised an eyebrow "Our company is providing financial backing for the ball tonight, my father sent me to discuss the press coverage with Ernest, who assures me he is sending the Prophets star reporter, so that we receive excellent coverage in your esteemed publication." He drawled out the last few words lacing them with irony.

Shrugging she turned back to Ernest who was still glaring at her. Her editor cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Well Rose would be our first choice to cover tonight's festivities. She's an extremely experienced reporter who is very capable of..." Ernest wilted a little under the weight of the disapproving stares that Zabini and Burke are currently giving him. "Unless uh, you would prefer somebody else?"

Rose bit her lip trying to look penitent but struggling to contain her glee. Any moment now she will be out of this assignment and free to concentrate on the Bulstrode story. Let Abigail fawn over the society news. There are real stories to be told.

Scorpius Malfoy stepped forward with a wry smile "I am sure Rose will do an admirable job Mr Ramshackle." He turned to Rose whose jaw had dropped in disbelief. "I look forward to the pleasure of seeing you this evening Weasley, I have it on good authority that there will be an almost unlimited supply of self congratulatory pretentious posh tossers for you to ingratiate yourself with. Who knows you may even enjoy it."

He reached forward and shook Ernest by the hand. The other two rose and said perfunctory good-byes. Within moments they were gone.

Ernest released a breath that he seemed to have been holding in for the last five minutes and sunk into his chair like a large balloon deflating.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" exploded Rose, "I was this close to getting out of it and that smarmy-"

"Rose" Ernest growled warningly, his head snapping up. "May I remind you that the companies owned by Draco Malfoy, Horatio Zabini and Alfred Black generate at least fifty percent of the advertising revenue for this paper."

"But-"

"May also remind you that that revenue goes to pay your wages."

Rose shut her mouth, fuming silently.

"Go to the ball. Write the damn story. Make it look good."

"The Bulstrode story..." She began.

"Will be here when you get back. GO!"

She turned on her heel and strode out of the door.

"Oh and Rose?" She looks back at him questioningly. "Take the rest of the day, sort your hair out, buy a dress, maybe even put some make up on. I want you on your best behaviour tonight, not sticking out like a sore bloody thumb!"

Lorcan glanced up at Rose as she returned to her desk swearing steadily and creatively under her breath, he caught her eye and then gestured dramatically to the swear box on her desk. She reached into her handbag pulling out her purse and emptied it into the box. He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"I'm paying in advance for the rest of today." She harrumphed.

"You could try _not_ spewing profanities all the time," he joked "think of all the money you'd save"

"I don't _spew_ profanities Lorc" Rose spat back as she stuffed parchments and quills into her bag with venom, "I articulate them clearly like a fucking lady."

o0o

_He needn't of worried. Centuries of tradition and breeding and he supposes it should be no surprise. The Malfoys belong in Slytherin.  
_

o0o


	2. Chapter 2

o0o

_Just over two months in and his routine is set._

_Wake at 5.30AM._

_Into the shared bathroom before the rest of his house stirs and sullies the pristine sinks and baths._

_Clothes freshly pressed and folded. He dresses meticulously and then busies himself with taming his hair which curls ever so slightly, he is in the habit of slicking it back with Sleekeazy's hair potion. _

_Down to breakfast every morning at 7am precisely._

_One soft boiled egg. Two slices of wholegrain toast.  
A cup of coffee. Black. No sugar._

_He then reads the Daily Prophet in silence until the others join him, savouring the peace in the hall at the beginning of the day. _

_An only child, he is used to solitude and this is his way of seeking it out._

_On the morning of Saturday November 14th. Two months and fourteen days after he started at Hogwarts his routine is disrupted for the first time._

On the table at breakfast next to his copy of the Daily Prophet there is another newspaper.  
He hesitates and then peruses it curiously.

**THE BEACON**

**A Weekly Hogwarts Newspaper. For the Students. By the Students.**  
**1st edition.**

_He reads it, interested despite himself, there is passion and vibrancy to the writing. There are copies on every table in the Great Hall and once the rest of the school join him it generates a lot of interest. Nobody is admitting to producing it and the teachers appear just as stumped as the students._

_He doesn't realise it yet, but just like that she's begun her invasion of his carefully crafted morning routine._

o0o

Rose harrumphed back to the semi-detached house in London that she shared with her cousin and best friend Fred Weasley, her hair in disarray, shirt half tucked into the back of her trousers and her coat buttoned incorrectly. Bursting through the front door she deposited her shoes, coat and handbag in a heap and then ran upstairs to browse through her wardrobe quickly. She has to attend the odd formal occasion for work and she's pretty sure she has something buried in the back of her wardrobe that will do for tonight. She's buggered if she's going to go out and buy new clothes.

She ransacked her wardrobe, a small mountain of clothes accumulating on her bed until she finds an ivory dress with black embroidery around the bodice. She wore it for an International Wizarding Press Awards Dinner two years ago, and it'll do. She rooted around in among some battered looking shoe boxes and is just extricating a very squashed looking shoe from underneath a suitcase when she hears the tell-tale crack that informs her Fred has just apparated into the hall.

"Rosie?" He called stomping up the stairs. "Rose?"

"I'm in here!" She called, her voice muffled by the wardrobe.

Fred knocked and then entered without waiting for a reply. Tall, dark skinned, with tightly curled hair, light brown eyes and a wide smile he's the only other Weasley of their generation who seems to enjoy the single life, the others are all married, engaged or in serious relationships.

"You're back early." It's a statement but it's really a question.

She appeared from the wardrobe, red curls askew, shoe in hand and sighed. "I have to bloody attend a big gala ball thingy at some fancy hotel tonight. You know, for the Prophet."

"Really? Surely that's the sort of thing Abby would be better for." He raised an eyebrow.

"Tell me the fuck about it. Anyone would think I was writing for bloody Witch Weekly not the Daily Prophet. Anyway," she stood, "I tried to tell the chief to send Abby but he wouldn't listen and I've been roped into it." She paused mid rant and gazed at him with narrowed eyes. "By the way, talking of Abby, she asked after you again today and I fobbed her off, but just so you know I'm not fixing you up with anyone else from my work if you're just going to shag them and leave them." She cast a couple of quick charms on the shoes and the robes to clean them, just in case.

Fred has the grace to look a bit guilty and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly "Yeah well, she was okay but a bit vapid."

Rose stared daggers at him "You _begged_ me to ask her, I tried to warn you, but you insisted and now look where it's got me. Speak to her. Tell her you're not interested. Don't. Leave. It. For. Me. To. Do." She poked him in the chest with her finger repeatedly to accentuate each word.

"Ow! OK. OK. I'll get round to it. I promise." He grinned charmingly, "Shall I get Roxy to come over and do your hair for you?" He looped his arm through hers and they made their way downstairs together.

"Yeah, you better had, I guess. We both know I'm crap at this type of thing, and I'm under strict instructions from the chief to appear as un-me-like as possible tonight."

o0o

Well she has to admit, Roxy has done a miraculous job in just two hours, looking in the mirror she can hardly recognise herself. Her robes have been adjusted to fit better with a couple of well placed charms. The black embroidery that runs in a panel down the front has been repaired properly, she hadn't even realised it had loose threads. Roxy has even managed to tame, if not totally control her hair, giving the impression of pre-raphelite curls and sweeping it into a beautiful half up half down style which she had decorated with tiny white flowers. Rose poked her head round the door to the kitchen to say goodbye to Fred before she set out and he winked at her. "Looking good cuz! Forgiven me about Abby then?"

She glares at him a little, "I'll forgive you once you speak to her."

Roxy bustled in and fussed round her making a couple of last minute adjustments. "You look beautiful!" She grinned broadly.

"Yeah. Thanks Rox, I owe _you _one!" Rose cast another dark look at Fred. "Now if only I can get through tonight without spilling something on myself I should be fine."

The twins snorted with laughter and she kissed them on the cheek in turn, consciously trying not to smudge her make up.

o0o

It was six thirty and she had arrived early to meet up with Nate Plimpton who had been assigned by the Prophet to photograph tonight's event. It was at the Grange Hotel, which she learned this afternoon is an ancient, sprawling, converted country house in Sussex set in one hundred acres of land.

She turned to Nate, "Get a few shots of the grounds before the guests arrive. I'm going to have a poke around and see what's what."

He grinned at her and she heard the camera click and whir into action.

She stood a moment to drink in the beauty of the silver birches that line the gently curving driveway into undulating hills. The twilight air was clean and fresh, biting at her lungs and the first few stars of the evening were twinkling in the autumn sky. She breathed deeply and then ducked quickly into the foyer of the hotel.

It was a hive of activity inside. A slightly built witch with quick dark eyes and angular features accosted her and introduced herself as Venetia Darlington-Smythe, event co-ordinator. Once she realised that Rose was with the press, she quickly showed her to the massive ballroom where the main event will be held. It really is spectacularly impressive. It has high ceilings with oak beams and crystal chandeliers enchanted to hover high above the tables, highly polished parquet floors and huge windows that reveal perfectly landscaped gardens lit in the dusk with glowing torches. The room smelt heavenly, fresh flowers are on every table, and elegant garlands hung from the beams. Enchanted butterflies with gossamer wings flit lazily between the bouquets leaving silvery, glittery trails in their wake. Rose has never been anywhere like this before. It's all so opulent. So effortlessly elegant. It fairly takes her breath away.

Suddenly realising that she hasn't been listening at all to Venetia she tuned quickly into the conversation again, "...and obviously if you can make sure you interview the _really important_ people, you know anyone who will sell the event to the general public. It's all about raising money for the new wing at St. Mungo's, and celebrity support always encourages people to donate more. Obviously it would be _fabulous_ if you could cover the charity auction later tonight. Such fun!" She gave Rose a thin smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and then disappeared off.

o0o

An hour in and the room began to fill with the great and good from the wizarding world. A string quartet played in the background and a steady murmur of chatter thrummed through the room. The initial awe at her surroundings had dissipated and working her way round the room with a fixed grin she started to mingle with the guests, glass of wine in hand, wishing to all hell that she could have a shot of firewhiskey instead.

Half way through a particularly dull conversation with a short, whiskery man who she _thinks_ might be on the board of trustees for St Mungo's she noticed the tall blond figure of Scorpius Malfoy enter the ballroom and her eyes narrowed. She averted her gaze quickly, deciding a little unfairly that as it is at least partly his fault that she is in this predicament and it will be better all round if she can ignore him this evening.

Inevitably though this plan is doomed to failure. Half way through the conversation with the whiskery man she jumped slightly as she felt a hand press briefly to the small of her back and she looked round to find herself staring into the insolent grey eyes of Scorpius Malfoy. His lips pulled up in a slight smile as he caught her eye and his shook the hand of the whiskery gentleman, whose name has eluded her. "Falstaff, glad you could make it this evening, and I hope that everything meets with your approval?" he drawls.

"Fabulous Malfoy! Fabulous! Cracking absolutely cracking! Great company as well." Falstaff replied heartily, gesturing towards Rose. "Can I introduce you to this enchanting young lady? Works for the Daily Prophet, what! Going to give this a good write up in the press eh?"

"Weasley and I attended Hogwarts together, so we are acquainted. In fact she was just telling me today how much she was looking forward to attending this evening and reporting back on it. Tell me Weasley, is tonight living up to all your expectations?" He smirked knowingly at her.

"Well Malfoy, I can honestly say that it hadn't quite reached_ those_ heady heights but now you're here I hold out great hopes that it will be_ exactly_ as fabulous and exciting as I predicted it would be." She replied with venom taking a slug of wine and wincing slightly. Malfoy raised an eyebrow sardonically.

"Weasley, that's right Rose Weasley! Knew I'd remember your name. Read your articles in the Prophet with my wife. Great stuff! Do you get to come to events like this often? Bit of a treat eh?" Falstaff guffawed slapping her on the back so that her wine nearly spilled over the edge of the glass.

Malfoy leaned across to a passing waiter and whispered to him briefly.

"To be frank, it's not really my area of expertise." Rose replied a little irritably, "I prefer investigative journalism and sometimes opinion pieces but honestly, this is a little beyond me."

"Ah so! A great treat then eh?" He beamed at her clearly no longer paying any attention to what she was saying. "Ah look! Finch-Fletchley has arrived. Must go over and say hallo!" and with that he bumbled away.

She glanced up at Scorpius who was looking at her intently. "What?" She grimaced, "I'm here, there's no point in pretending to you that I want to be but I am."

The waiter returns carrying two small glasses of Ogdens Firewhiskey, He took them both and handed one to her, passing her half finished wine back to the waiter.

"Oh Thank God!" She sighed and chugs it back quickly. Letting it warm her throat.

Then she glances up at him, momentarily confused. "How do you know I wouldn't want ice?"

He looks down at her, his face inscrutable. "A lucky guess."

o0o

_It's a quarter to midnight on the final day of their sixth year. _

_Gryffindor have won the Quidditch Cup and the House Cup and a raucous party is taking place in their common room._

_He can hear the celebratory noises from Gryffindor tower as he makes his way back from the Owlery._

_He walks swiftly along on his way to the Slytherin common room, where he is sure the mood will be a little less buoyant, but comes to a halt as he sees the somewhat surprising sight of someone attempting to have a serious discussion with the unsurprisingly unresponsive statue of Wilfred the Wistful. A half empty bottle of firewhiskey clutched in their hand._

_As he gets closer he sees that it's Rose Weasley, The long red curls springing out of her ponytail give her away even from a distance. Nobody else has hair that's _that_ unruly._

"_Y'seeee... and thatsh what Imma tellin' you." She pats Wilfrid's shoulder consiprationally._

"_Weasley!?" He almost tries to sneak by her, but decides against it at the last minute. The Gryffindor common room is not far away and perhaps he could try help her get back._

"_Whoosit?" She spins round drunkly and staggers back against him in surprise._

"_Scrawpius Mafloy. How the devil are you?" She slurs and leans in to him; he recoils slightly as the pungent smell of firewhiskey hits him in the face._

"_Y'wanna join me for a little, tiny weeny itty bitty drink?" She blinks owlishly up at him._

"_No thanks" he replies a little stiffly._

"_Huh! Fucking pussy. Whiskey is the best, better then Butterbeer or wine or anything. It's best straight as well" and to illustrate her point she takes a long swig from the bottle. "D'ya Shee?"_

_He places her arm around her shoulder in an attempt to support her weight and her legs immediately seem to give out under her dragging them both to the floor and they end up sitting with their backs leaning up against Wilfrid._

"_Here, here, here, you have some Scrotius" She attempts to push the bottle to his lips and tips it up. He grabs the bottle before she ruins his shirt and partly to silence her takes a chug of the whiskey. Which burns his throat, he wheezes slightly._

"_There! Now your shelebrating with me properly!" She beams up at him. The vacant smile of the drunk._

"_Yes, well done Gryffindor." He mutters under his breath a trifle bitterly and takes another swig._

"_Well yesh, I shuppose so but I'm really shelebrating becaush of my article." _

"_Oh? Which one?" _

_She has become momentarily distracted by a loose thread in her jumper and he has to repeat the question twice._

"_The one about the Shorting Hat, they're going to publish it in the Daily Prophet. It'sh a big deal for me y'know? Mr Ramshackle, he's the editor, he reckons he's going to let me write a few articlesh over the next year or sho. Then I might get a job at the Prophet when I leave."_

_He digests this information, and takes another slug of firewhiskey. _

"_Wow...congratulations."_

_She leans her head against his shoulder and he nearly ends up with a mouthful of hair, he brushes it out of the way noting that it's a lot softer then it looks._

_She puts a hand on his thigh and he tenses briefly._

_She looks up at him, and he's never realised it before, because he's never had a reason to be this close to her, but her eyes are a really dark brown._

_In that instance he realises how funny it is, because even though they've hardly ever had reason to speak, he feels like he knows her nearly as well as any of his own friends. It's the damn paper he realises, she's poured so much of herself into it that he could just as easily tell you her opinions on everything from books to house elves and a hundred subjects in-between. _

"_Muffly... I mean Moulfoy.. I mean you... you know who you are." She gestures vaguely at him. "Thanks for sharing a drink with me." _

_He smiles slightly and then on impulse he bends down and presses a kiss on her lips for a few seconds._

_He pulls away, gauging her reaction. "You smell nice Muffly" She hiccups loudly. "What was that for?"_

"_Thank-you Rose" He says softly._

_He helps her to her feet and they stagger gently toward the Gryffindor common room._

o0o


	3. Chapter 3

**_I'm really happy with this chapter. It's my favourite so far. I'm almost so happy with it that I'm tempted to leave the story where it is as a short fic, but I have actually got ideas for a proper plot. So I would be interested to know if you think I should continue with this or leave it be. Thanks for the follows and the review. _**

**_I realise that I have forgotten to add the obligatory disclaimer at the top of the previous chapters so here goes: I do not own these characters. If I did I would be on a desert island drinking mojitos and sunbathing, but thank-you Jo for lending them out to us._**

o0o

_For as long as she could remember she had wanted to write. _

_Diaries, short stories, poetry, prose._

_Any opportunity to sit scribbling her thoughts on a piece of parchment and she would take it._

_By the time she had come to Hogwarts she had already formulated a secret plan to start a School Newspaper and two and a half months in she published her first edition._

_Sure it was fairly basic. An article on what it was like to be a First Year at the school, a write up of the recent Hufflepuff / Ravenclaw Quidditch match and a couple book reviews. Still it was hers and more to the point people seemed to like it._

_It was far too much work for one person to do and she realised after the second edition that she would definitely need to involve other students to make a go of it._

_Fortunately when the Headmistress, Professor McGonagall, finally wheedled a confession out of her, she was relieved to find that not was her pet project approved but that other students were able to be actively involved._

_Rose insisted that as the founder of the paper, she retain editorial control and this was agreed to as long as it didn't interfere too much with her studies._

_It soon became apparent that other students wanted to see their name in print and soon she had a regular set of contributors from her year and above who wrote reviews of music and books, quidditch and all manner of other subjects._

_Rosie herself always produced an editorial and had the final say in what went in to the weekly edition. _

_By the end of her first year The Beacon was a regular Hogwarts fixture and her absolute pride and joy._

_o0o_

Scorpius let out a long breath, the evening was going rather well he thought. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, the wine was flowing the food was mouthwatering and the charity auction had raised a considerable amount of money for the new wing at St Mungo's hospital. The evening was beginning to draw to a close and people were slowly beginning to make their way to their hotel rooms or apparating home.

With the added bonus of press coverage this particular philanthropic effort would do no his father's business no harm at all. His father hadn't attended this evening, whilst his father had an excellent head for business, he left it to his son to be the public face of the company. Scorpius glanced across at Rose Weasley, her bright hair flaming like a beacon across the ballroom. She was deep in conversation with the Daily Prophet photographer and appeared to be giving him final instructions. Her colleague wandered off and she turned and caught Scorpius eye across the ballroom and giving him a wan smile she wandered over to speak to him.

"Tired Weasley? Surely you're used to later nights then this."

"Well, technically yes." She winced slightly and bent down to remove her shoes "But I'm not used to wearing heels and I definitely think I've got a blister. Bugger." She swore softly and stretched her cramped toes and calf out a little to restore circulation to her aching feet. "Good Lord, I could use another Firewhiskey. Where did you get that one from earlier, I haven't been able to get hold of one for the rest of the evening?"

"Ah well, that was from my own private stash" He replied wryly.

"You snuck in a bottle of whiskey to your own ball? Malfoy I'm impressed, I didn't know you had it in you!" Her eyes danced.

"Well, not quite." He coughed a little feeling unaccountably awkward, "The whiskey is here because my apartment is here."

She gazed incredulously at him. "You live here!" Her voice squeaked in disbelief. "In this hotel? What? You mean you rent a room?"

"No! Of course not!" He gave a derisive snort. "My family own the hotel. The penthouse suite apartment is mine and I live there."

"Oh!" She looked at him disbelievingly. "I don't think I ever realised how rich you Malfoys are. Do the rest of your family live here too?"

"No. My parents live on our estate in Wiltshire."

"You have an estate in Wiltshire?" Again the tone of disbelief.

"Yes and an apartment in Paris and country house in Scotland. Why are you surprised? I thought everyone knew that we Malfoys are fabulously wealthy" he drawled.

Her draw dropped, "Shit! I mean I knew you guys were wealthy but you're making it sound like your as rich as Croesus. How did I not know this?" She snorted with laughter. "Seriously it doesn't speak to well of my journalistic prowess does it?"

He grinned as they turned together and headed out through the ballroom doors and follow a long corridor to the main entrance hall. "I, on the other hand, know that you are an ardent supporter of rights for all magical creatures, a vegetarian who loves nature but have inherited your fathers fear of spiders, you've been to Egypt, Italy, Brazil, Australia and Russia so presumably you enjoy travelling, your favourite Quidditch team is the Holyhead Harpies, your favourite time of year is autumn and your favourite colour is blue."

She stood in the corridor her jaw dropping for the second time that evening. "How the fuck do you know all of that?"

He grinned lazily at her and then leaned forward and whispered in her ear "You wrote about all those things in the Beacon during our time at Hogwarts together."

"And you remembered it? Some of that stuff is from a decade ago!" She spluttered disbelievingly, "Shit!"

He flashed her a wry smile "I have a good memory."

"Or your a psychotic stalker!" She blurted out giving him a slightly dazed look.

"Well I guess you'll never know." He replied in mild amusement. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have to go and say farewell to the other gue-"

"Oh no you don't!" She said determindly staying his arm with a surprisingly strong grip. "You're going to show me your apartment!"

"What! Now?" This time it was him slack-jawed with surprise. "Why?"

"Because, Malfoy! You know loads of things about me and I don't seem to know anything about you, that's more then a little bit creepy and I want to even the score."

"You wrote articles, that contained information about yourself and published them. I read them. If you can't handle the consequences of that, then I suggest you consider a different career." He replied superciliously.

"Malfoy, my own MOTHER has a scrapbook of those articles and the memory of an elephant and I doubt she could recall that much minutiae about me that quickly. You are going to take me upstairs and show me your apartment so I at least feel I know something about you and also so that I can confirm that you are not in fact a psychotic stalker who has wallpapered his bathroom with my photographs and newspaper articles while secretly collecting my toenail clippings and drain hair."

"Drain hair?" He mouthed, bemused and a little disgusted.

She folded her arms and glared at him unyieldingly.

He put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "OK!OK! If your that desperate to go up there then I'll take you up. Never let it be said that Scorpius Malfoy refused a beautiful women who is begging to be shown my apartment." He raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"Shut it Malfoy. Or I'll hex your bollocks off and turn them into a purse."

o0o

They climbed four flights of stairs before Scorpius reached the door of his penthouse suite. Women were frequent visitors to his apartment but he can say in all honestly that he never thought he would be showing this particular woman around and he feels inexplicably nervous.

He unlocked the door and pushes it open slightly stepping to one side to allow Rose through. He heard her gasp a little.

"Woah! Malfoy. This place is bloody huge." He followed her through as she made her way into the open plan lounge and kitchen. It is a big space, the attic rooms from the east wing of the house have been knocked through and converted into a massive open plan rooms whilst retaining, sympathetically, as many of the original features of the old house. It's a very pleasing blend between old and modern and quite stunning if he does say so himself.

She turned to face him. "Can I have a look around?"

"I was under the impression I didn't have a choice in the matter." He stated sardonically.

"You don't"

She dropped the shoes she's been carrying in the middle of the lounge floor and headed over to run her hand across the large burgundy leather armchair in the middle of the room.

Scorpius frowned slightly, glancing at the shoes and picked them up, placing them neatly on the shoe rack and seconds later his own joined hers. He then followed the hallway round into his large bedroom and tpok his outer robes and suit jacket off and hung them up as neatly as possible where the house elves will find them tomorrow for cleaning and pressing.

She poked her head around his bedroom door. "So this is the bedroom?"

"Yes and through there is the en-suite." He replied with a gesture.

She wandered across the room and opened it, glancing inside. He crossed his arms and tilted his head to one side.

"Satisfied Weasley? No shrines in your honour? No balls of drain hair or stacks of newspaper clippings."

She shut the bathroom door. "Yeah... I guess."

He can hear disappointment in her voice and he's nettled.

"What? Did you expect there to be?"

"No but..." She hesitated, reluctant to voice her frustration.

"What?" he snapped.

"Oh fuck it. Nothing, it's all very, very perfect, very precise and beautiful." She bit back and swiped at a stray curl that fallen across her face.

"No!" He taunted, with a flash of genuine anger, "Come on now, you've forced your way up here. Now let's here what opinions the great and mighty Rose Weasley has!"

"Fine!" She exploded, "You want my opinion I'll give it to you. This - " She gestured wildly to the room "is lovely, all of it, I've never been in a more amazing place. Authentic four poster bed, polished wooden floors, oak beams, original fireplace. It's totally fucking immaculate. Honestly I could be in a five star hotel."

"So what's wrong then?" He asks in confusion.

"Exactly that! I might as well _be_ in a hotel room. There's nothing of _you_ here is there. No photographs of family or friends, no memento's or knick knacks or books, no evidence of hobbies or work, I mean hell what do you do in this place sit and stare at the fucking wall when you get home? No_thing_ in this apartment tells me any_thing _about you!"

He looked at her in stunned silence for a moment unable to speak and she stared back at him for a long moment.

She exhaled slowly. "Look Malfoy, I'm sorry. I've got a big mouth and more opinions on things then are good for me." She reaches out and touches his arm with the tips of her fingers. "I'm sorry, I crossed a line, I hope I haven't hurt your feelings."

She turned to leave, and a minute later he could hear her thumping around getting ready to go.

Then the soft pad of her feet as she returned and sticks her head round the door.

"Uh, Malfoy... have you hidden my shoes?"

"Er yes." He led her back down the hallway to the little wooden cabinet where the shoes are stored and took them out handing them to her, and she slipped them on.

"Well..." She looked up at him. "I better go, thanks for showing me your place and sorry for y'know, running my big mouth off." She leant up suddenly and kisses him gently on the cheek. "Good night Malfoy."

She turned to go, and suddenly he is spurred into action.

"Rose, wait!" His hand reached out to stay her.

"Yes?"

"Come with me." He took her hand and led her back into the lounge. "Take a seat." He gestured at the stylish leather couch.

"Why? What's going on?" she hesitated.

"I'm going to even the score." He gave her a small smile, "Wait here."

She sat down looking uncomfortable. Going through to his bedroom he went to his bedside table and opened the drawer retrieving a photograph in a wooden frame and returned to her.

"Here." He handed it to her and she accepted it in confusion.

Looking down at it her face broke into a wide smile. "Oh look at you! It is you isn't it? With your Mum and Dad?" He nodded slightly.

"How old are you?" He sat beside her and stared down at the photo. His gap toothed ten year old self waves furiously back at him, exuberantly happy. His mother and father look down at him and then gaze smilingly across at each other their arms linked affectionately.

"About ten, I think, it was taken the year before we started at Hogwarts."

"Your Mum is beautiful." Rose stated, tracing the wooden frame with one finger.

"Yes," He said softly with a sad smile "Yes she was."

She looked up, "Was?"

"She, um, died during our second year at Hogwarts." he looked down at the photograph and his Mother smiled back at him. He can't bring himself to look at Rose because, honestly, in nine years, it's the first time he's actually said that to anyone. Most people either knew already, or didn't get close enough to him to ask. He certainly wasn't about to volunteer the information.

"Wha- what happened to her?" Rose sounded horrified and he still couldn't bring himself to look at her.

"My Grandfather Lucius, you may have heard of him" he laughed bitterly, "He died when I was ten and we were um, going through some of his possessions at Malfoy manner and my Mum touched this ring. It was cursed with powerful dark magic. The healers managed to keep her alive for about two years with various potions but..." his voice started to fade away "but there was nothing they could do to stop the inevitable."

He glanced up and Rose is staring at him stricken, with tears in her eyes. "I'm so so sorry Malfoy, I had no idea. I... I didn't know."

"S'Ok, it's not something I talk about a lot, even back then I don't think I told anyone." He reached for the photograph, "I mean obviously the teachers knew that she _had _died but I don't know if they knew how and a couple the kids knew because there parents were friendly with mine but..." His voice trailed off again and he shruged a little "I didn't really want to talk about it." He stood up and she followed his lead.

He glanced awkwardly at her, unsure what to say next and then suddenly she stepped forward and enfolded him in a giant hug, her head buried in the crook of his shoulder and her wild hair tickling his nose. "Thank-you," she murmured "Thank-you for sharing." His heart felt suddenly full and he returned her hug, feeling lighter then he's felt in years. They stood like that for what feels like an age before she broke away.

"I feel terrible now," she said sniffling slightly, "Saying that stuff before. Me and my big bloody mouth..." She smiled at him ruefully.

"Don't worry about it." He flushed slightly, "It actually felt kind of good to talk about it. Besides you're right. This isn't really a home as such. I don't know if I've had one of those for a while."

The silence between them is awkward as hell, and yet he's suddenly reluctant for her to leave and desperate not to be by himself.

"Whiskey?" He offered walking to his drinks cabinet and opening it.

"Please."

"Ogden's finest or something else?"

"Ooh what do you have?" He opened the door of the cabinet more widely to reveal it's contents and her eyes lit up as she comes over. "Talisker? My grandparents brought me a bottle of that back from their holiday in Scotland. I do love a single malt."

He poured the Talisker into two glass tumblers and handed one to her.

"Cheers" she said and clinked her glass to his. He took a swig and so did she.

She cast her eyes to the heavy drapes that cover the windows "What's your view like?"

"Uh, not too spectacular at this time of night, but great normally." He crossed the room and pulled the heavy drapes to reveal large lead lined glass doors. He unlocked them and pushed them open. He held the door open for her and she stepped through.

It is dark, but there is a certain magic to the night. The paths in the hotel grounds are lit by twinkling torches and overhead a thousand stars glimmer in the heavens. Rose rested her forearms on the balustrade and swirled her whisky thoughtfully; almost without thinking he mirrors her pose.

A contented silence hovers between them as a fleeting zephyr rustles the leaves of nearby trees and plays gently with Rose's flyaway curls.

"Shall we be friends Scorpius?"

He glances across at her and raises an eyebrow quizzically.

She looks slyly up at him. "I mean are you capable of being friends with a woman? I remember hearing certain rumours about you at school and I have to say this place," She gestured back to the apartment behind them "Is a shagger's paradise, I imagine that you just invite the women up here and wait for their underwear to fall off by itself."

He choked on his whiskey and smiled his first full smile of the night. "Let's put it this way Rose, I've never brought a woman up here and had them complain about the lack of 'knick-knacks' before."

She snorted in amusement and chugged the last of her whiskey. He looked at her contemplatively over the rim of his glass. "But yes... we can be friends. I think I would like that."

"Excellent!" She beamed up at him and he couldn't help smiling back.

o0o


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank-you so much for the reviews and the follows. It really means a lot. I'd be interested to hear what you think of this chapter.**

o0o

They stood for a moment longer, shoulder to shoulder in companionable silence, their forearms resting on the parapet, listening to the susurration of the wind in the trees and enjoying the stillness of the night. Scorpius hair was ruffled as the Sleekeazy hair potion began to loose it's hold and strands of blonde hair began to flutter in his eyes as the breeze picked up.

"So," he said finally breaking the silence and turning slightly to look at her, "what was the oh so important story that you wanted to work on tonight rather then be here?"

"Well it's complicated, it needs a lot of work and even then I'm not sure if it could be published." She trailed off, biting her lip.

"Intriguing... He drawled and nudged her shoulder with his, "Why don't you run it past me."

She looked at him for a long moment, weighing him up.

"Aren't we supposed to be friends now?" He chided mockingly.

"Oh, you're not going to start throwing that in my face all the time are you?" She huffed feigning exasperation, "Come on I need more whiskey."

They walked in from the balcony together, the room chilled from the cool night air. Rose shivered involuntarily. Scorpius was also feeling the cold, his dress shirt and waistcoat providing poor protection against the chill of the evening. He flicked his wand toward the grate and a roaring fire leapt to life.

"Actually," she rejoined, obviously having given the matter some thought, "With your business background you may actually be able to help, but it would be confidential. I'd need to know you wouldn't discuss it with anyone."

His lips twisted into a roguish smile. "Curiouser and curiouser"

She reached out a hand to his arm and looked up at him deadly earnest. "I'm serious Scorpius. You shared something very personal with me earlier and I feel like I can trust you. Can I?"

Slightly taken aback he met her frank gaze. "Of course. I won't tell anyone, you have my word."

"Thank-you, that means a lot." She squeezed his arm gently and released it.

She sat down in an impressive looking leather armchair and tucked her feet up under herself, whilst he refilled their glasses.

Passing her a glass he went and took a seat on the couch. He looked at her expectantly. "Well?"

She looked at him thoughtfully, "You remember the Bulstrode case that was in the press a couple of months ago."

He nodded remembering back, it had been well publicised at the time, "Godfrey Bulstrode, convicted of fraud, he was embezzling funds from the ministry I think."

"That's the one. Well I was covering the story at the time for the Prophet and I was there for the trial at the Wizengamot." She paused to take a sip of her whiskey. "He was found not guilty."

"Yes there was a lot of surprise about that verdict at the time I remember."

"As well there should have been. There was a lot of really strong evidence against him."

"So what do you think happened? Do you think he bought off somebody at the ministry to get that result?"

She shrugged. "Or someone did intervened on his behalf, there's something else though and it makes the whole thing a bit more sinister." For the first time that evening she looked genuinely nervous and her she stared steadily at the fire, lost in her own thoughts.

"Rose?" Scorpius said softly, "What is it?"

She looked up at him, trying to decide how much to divulge. "If I tell you this, you probably will think I'm crazy."

"I wouldn't worry about that. I think my mind's already made up on that score." he replied sardonically.

She smiled drily at him, "Well in that case, it will be easier if I show you. Is this fireplace on the floo network?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Come back to mine." She stood and shook her robes out and stretched. "You can look over the evidence and tell me what you think."

"It's one o'clock in the morning" He replied raising an eyebrow.

"Oh it won't matter, I'll be up late anyway writing the damn piece on the ball." She gulped back the last of her whiskey. "So you won't be in the way."

"That wasn't _quite_ where I was going with that, but OK." He muttered under his breath.

o0o

A short time later they were standing in front of the fireplace in the lounge of Rose's semi-detached house. Scorpius gazed around peturbed. There were piles of books and magazines on every surface, piled up against the couch and littering the floor and a plate of half eaten congealed food on the coffee table. A coffee mug had obviously knocked onto the floor earlier in the evening and it's contents still stained the carpet. Several pairs of shoes were scattered over the worn looking beige carpet, obviously just kicked off and left by their respective owners. A guitar, a half eaten box of chocolates and a coat lay on the couch.

"Good God, has someone broken in?" he exclaimed only half joking.

She looked up at him, her face a mixture of exasperation and amusement. "No, it always looks like this."

"Ah" He followed her as she picked her way between piles of clutter that littered the floor. "It's very... homely" he finished a little lamely.

She gurgled with laughter and grabbed his hand. "Come upstairs and I'll show you the case. Then you can tell me if I'm losing the plot."

Rose's room was in keeping the rest of the house. Bookshelves lined one wall. A desk scattered in parchment that also covered the floor. The bed had a mountain of clothes on it, the wardrobe door was open, as were several of the drawers and clothes spilled out of them. Pictures of Rose with her family and on her various travels filled the walls. Scorpius looked at them with interest attempting to ignore the mess in the room.

"Take a seat." Said Rose briskly as she began rifling through the paperwork on her desk.

"Where do you suggest?"

"Wherever you want. I don't mind." She replied distractedly.

He gingerly pushed a particularly precarious pile of clothes to one side and perched on the corner of her large double bed and grimaced slightly as he looked around at the sheer volume of _things._

"Are those muggle newspapers?" He suddenly asked interestedly, looking at a large stack of newspapers by the wardrobe.

"Yup. We'll get to them in a minute!" Turning she shoved the jumble of clothes off of the bed on to the floor where they lay in a crumpled heap. "Right then." She huffed and sat cross legged on the end of the bed with her back against the wall and a massive pile of papers in her lap. "Sit here." She patted the spot next to her.

He gave her an odd look and then scrambled across the bed and sat with his back against the wall and his legs stretched out on the bed in front of him, feeling strangely like a teenager.

"So as we discussed already, here is the paperwork for the original case, now my knowledge of business is not the best, but looking at these accounts, and this paperwork from the ministry" she gestured to the parchments, "it would seem to me that they had quite a strong case against him."

Scorpius reached into the pocket of his waistcoat and withdrew a pair of black, slim wire framed glasses and put them on before taking the parchment that contained the accounts. He looked at them with careful consideration, flicking through each page. He ran a hand through his increasingly unruly blonde hair as it fell in front of his eyes.. Rose watched him intently.

"Well?" She said eventually as he came to the last page of figures.

He leaned back pensively "Well, this definitely seems like proof that he embezzled a substantial amount of ministry funds and channelled it through several different shell companies to launder the money. On the face of it I would say you are right. Frankly I'm stunned that with this amount of evidence he wasn't convicted."

"I thought so too." she responded, "but it's good to have it confirmed by someone."

He glanced across at her, "So where is the sinister element?"

"Well!" She held a finger aloft, "That's where the muggle newspapers come in." She rifled through a newspaper and pointed him to a small article buried about five pages in, which advised that there were still no leads in the murder of a young woman two months ago.

"I don't understand" He said in confusion.

"The alley way that her body was found is next to the building which is a registered address for one of the shell companies which Bulstrode used to launder the money he defrauded from the ministry."

Scorpius sucked in a breath "It could be a coincidence." he said speculatively.

"She was found two days before he was arrested. It was such a brutal murder. She was burned to a crisp. They can't even identify her body apparently and her head was missing. Now, I can't get over the fact that two such big stories could have occurred within days of each other in virtually the same location and not be connected in some way."

Scorpius started flicking through the ministry paperwork again, "Do you mind me asking how you got access to all this information? I mean some of this is classified surely? I can't believe that they would have willingly let a member of the press see just how much evidence they had against Bulstrode."

She had the grace to blush lightly but said seriously, "I have a contact at the ministry who wants this investigated and have been prepared to risk their position to share this stuff with me in the hope that I can uncover the truth. More then that I can't really say. The murder in the alley I discovered myself because I make a habit of staying informed on muggle news events. Well?" She said attempting to move the subject on, "what do you think? Am I crazy?"

"Nooo." He replied thoughtfully, "I can see why your suspicious, but I can't for the life of me see a link between the brutal murder of a muggle and a wizard embezzling ministry funds."

She leaned her head back against the wall. "That's is the problem." She sighed and leant her head onto his shoulder, her red curls tickling his cheek.

He tensed a little, unused to having contact with a woman as tactile as Rose without it acting as a precursor to _other _activities.

He swallowed and started to scan through the other paperwork she had brought over. There was an edition of the Prophet from a month ago which had a large picture of a thickset man with dark hair and piercing eyes leaving the Wizengamot. He recognised it immediately as Godfrey Bulstrode. The image of Bulstrode blinked and scowled as the flashbulbs of multiple cameras went off and then put up his hand to shield his face."

"Ah," said Scorpius interestedly, "he's a member of the Brotherhood of Taranis."

"The what now?" Rose's head snapped up with interest.

"The Brotherhood of Taranis" he explained patiently, "is a secret society. I think it's been going for hundreds of years. I don't really know much of the history of it or what they do but I think it's still running today. At least, my grandfather was a member which suggests it was still going at least ten years ago."

"How could you tell that Bulstrode is a member?" She craned her neck to look at the article on his lap.

"The ring on his finger as he lifts his hand to his face." He pointed at the picture.

Rose examined the photo closely, and saw that on the little finger of his left hand was a heavy golden signet ring, with something embossed on it.

"What is that engraved on the ring?" She murmured squinting at the picture.

"I'm not a hundred percent sure," He bent over, their heads nearly touching. "It could be a wheel or a sun or something. This photograph isn't very clear. I'm trying to remember what my Grandfather's ring looked like, but I haven't seen it since I was a child, I _think_ it was a wheel."

They sat hunched over the photo together trying to work it out.

Rose rested her elbow on her knee and her chin in her hand. She blew her hair out of her eyes, "Well it's the closest thing to a lead I've got so far. If there is a link between the dead girl and Bulstrode, maybe this will shed some light on it. Do you think your Dad would know more about the Brotherhood of Taranis?" She asked.

"It's quite possible. I could ask him if you like."

"That could be really helpful. Thanks Malfoy," she grinned at him widely. "Hey I haven't offered you a drink yet."

He smiled ruefully. "Thanks but I better be getting home. After all," he checked his watch, "it's 2am and I have work tomorrow."

"Fuck me. I'd better write that damn article for you, or it'll be my body that gets found burned to a crisp in an alley and the chief'll be holding the match."

He shuffled off the far side of the bed a little awkwardly and picked his way through the piles of clutter to the door. "You were top of our year in Hogwarts weren't you Rose?" he said suddenly.

She looked up surprise, "In a few subjects, not all. I believe you were top in potions."

He glanced round the room, "How did you ever find anything let alone organise yourself to revise."

She looked a little affronted, "Oi you cheeky bastard, I know where everything is. Or at least," she amended quickly, "I know what pile of stuff it's likely to be in."

He snorted derisively and shook his head, "Well that is a relief I must say."

She stood up and faced him with her nose in the air. "Anyway, it'd do you good to pull that stick out of your arse and let a little chaos in your life, I don't know how you can relax in a place that's so..." she searched for the right word, "...sterile."

It was his turn to look piqued, "Just because I like things clean and tidy." he began.

"Hey! My room is clean." she interrupted spiritedly, "I'll have you know I chuck everything on the bed at least once a month so I can clean round."

His eyebrows rose so high in disbelief that he actually looked quite comical and she couldn't help snorting with laughter, after a few seconds he joined her.

"Seriously though Malfoy." She gasped as her giggles subsided, "Thanks for tonight. It's been a lot better than I thought it would be." She stepped forward suddenly and for the second time tonight he found himself being hugged. He returned it a little awkwardly.

"That's ok. It's been fun." he said his voice muffled by her hair.

"Let me know as soon as possible what your Dad says." She stepped back and he felt strangely bereft.

"I will. Goodnight Rose."

"Night."

o0o

**Hogwarts: Fifth Year.**

_Prefect duties had such a bad habit of encroaching on her writing time._

_She might have considered _not _being a prefect but her Mum would have been disappointed._

_Patrols with Albus were usually nice, considering they were in the same house they didn't get much time alone together. Tonight though Albus was feeling morose having broken up with his current girlfriend the night before._

_They just had the astronomy tower to go. A notorious spot for couples looking for a private interlude and Albus looked miserable._

_As they climbed the long and winding staircase they could see the door at the top was slightly ajar._

_Albus swore under his breath. "I'm _so_ not in the mood to be breaking up any shenanigans tonight."_

_She looked at him sympathetically. "You wait here, I'll stick my head round the door and check it out."_

_He nodded and turned to gaze moodily out of one of the small tower windows at the rain which was beating rhythmically against the glass._

_Rose continued up the steps quietly and cautiously pushed the door ajar. She glanced around the room, it definitely seemed to be empty. Then suddenly she heard a small gasp and her own breath caught in her throat. She scanned the room again. There in a shadowy nook she could make out a couple standing against the wall in an intimate embrace. _

_Rose was about to make them aware of her presence but the girl let out a long moan, "Mmm Scorp.. so good... don't stop."_

_Immediately Scorpius Malfoy, for she now recognised his blonde hair in the moonlight, lifted the girl with a grunt and the girls legs linked around his back as they began to move together._

_Rose held her breath, torn between charging in and breaking them up which duty dictated she should or saving all concerned a thoroughly awkward moment and letting them get on with it. _

_The girl sighed and moaned again a little more loudly._

_Rose backed out of the room as silently as she had entered it and made her way down the stairs a little to where Albus stood._

"_Nobody there then?" He asked._

"_I wouldn't say that," said Rose quietly, incurably frank, "but I'm buggered if I'm interrupting Scorpius Malfoy in the middle of his latest conquest."_

"_Oh" Albus replied raising an eyebrow. "Do you think I should stop..." He paused. Even he could hear the sounds coming from the astronomy tower now which seemed to be reaching a tell tale crescendo._

"_On second thoughts," said Albus colouring a little. "Ah... let's just... leave them to it. Far be it from me to cock block Malfoy."_

_Rose looked at him her eyes sparkling with suppressed laughter. "My thoughts exactly Al, after all they seem to be um... finishing up in there." She spluttered with laughter as the noise from the tower peaked._

"_Shhh!" Al whispered fiercely and they fled down the steps at top speed collapsing into giggles when they reached the bottom of the steps._

"_Well!" exclaimed Albus, "I'd heard rumours but he really _does_ get about doesn't he?"_

o0o

**OK, so that's the end of the fourth chapter. I love to get feedback if you have any. Also I should let you know that I've edited the tenses in the first two chapters so that they are in keeping with chapters 3 and 4.**


	5. Chapter 5

**My second chapter in less then a week! Huzzah! This is my new favourite chapter as well because it has Draco in it and who doesn't love a bit of Draco? BTW JKR owns all. I own nothing.**

o0o

Draco Malfoy had become something of a recluse, he had a genius for making money, but since the death of his wife he had retreated further and further away from the public eye, until, when his son had come of age, he had allowed Scorpius to take on the public duties of his business empire, while he remained shut away in Malfoy Manor. Despite this he maintained a strangely omniscient presence in the lives of all who knew and worked for him, aware of far more then one would expect from someone who rarely stirred beyond his office at Malfoy Manor. Some people suggested he was eccentric, those who knew him personally however refrained from commenting, mainly because they knew he would find out.

So it was, that when Scorpius was summoned to his fathers presence two days after the ball, he insured first that he had met with Venetia Darlington-Smythe and had fully updated himself on any events of significance that his father may want to discuss. He did this with a strange sense of foreboding however, because he knew it didn't matter how meticulously he prepared for these visits, his father had an uncanny knack of focusing on some unexpected issue that he had inevitably overlooked.

Apprehensively he apparated to his family's Wiltshire estate and made his way through the silent high ceilinged corridors to the large oak door of his father's study. He knocked.

"Enter."

He pushed open the door and walked through into the opulent room with it's antique furniture and thick heavy plum velvet curtains that framed large windows which overlooked the grounds of the estate.

His father was sitting in a huge bottle green leather chair at his rich mahogany desk writing a letter and did not look up. Scorpius knew better then to interrupt. He stood there for two full minutes in the doorway waiting for his father to finish.

Draco Malfoy had a haughty aristocratic demeanour, high cheekbones, blonde hair that was now streaked with silver, an aquiline nose and penetrating grey eyes. Scorpius was well aware that looking at his father was like looking in a mirror at what he would become.

"I'm sure you will shut the door behind you when you are ready, Scorpius" his father observed without looking up.

"Yes sir, of course." he closed the door and stood feeling uncommonly like he was awaiting his own execution.

"You may take a seat Scorpius" intoned his father, still not looking at him. He had stopped writing now and was reading back through the letter leisurely.

"Thank-you Father, but I prefer to stand." He replied through gritted teeth, but moved to stand at the large fireplace that dominated the room and tugged nervously at his collar.

"As you wish." His father replied still not looking up. He amended the letter, read it back and then folded it and laid it to one side, finally giving his son a piercing look. He rested his elbows on his desk and steepled his fingers. "So, Scorpius the ball was a success I understand."

"Yes, I believe so." he replied.

His father arched a perfect blonde eyebrow, "You were, I trust, there?"

Scorpius nodded curtly.

"And yet you do not feel you can commit wholeheartedly to commenting on it's success?"

Scorpius swallowed. "It was successful Sir."

His father nodded and leaned back in his chair. "Excellent," he subjected Scorpius to a penetrating stare before saying, "I understand that Rose Weasley attended on behalf of the Daily Prophet."

"Yes Sir."

"She wrote a _glowing_ report in yesterday's Daily Prophet."

"Indeed?"

"You have not read it?"

"I've not yet had the pleasure."

"Intriguing." He leaned forward and opened a small rosewood box on his desk and removed a packet of cigarettes. He opened it elegantly and proffered them to Scorpius. "Can I interest you in one?"

"No, thank-you Sir," he shook his head slightly, "I don't smoke."

"Ah yes, very proper." His father tapped the cigarette on the desk lightly, lit it and exhaled deeply sending a stream of bluish smoke into the air. He gave his son a calculating look. "Scorpius, I normally refrain from interfering in your personal relationships." He paused tapping ash into a nearby ash tray. Scorpius met his eyes questioningly, "However I feel I must counsel you against engaging in any form of dalliance with Rose Weasley." Scorpius eyes widened and he opened his mouth to protest, but his father continued silkily, "Relations between the Weasleys and the Malfoys have always been a little, shall we say, fraught? I would not want you to sour things even further by indulging yourself with Ronald Weasley's daughter and then breaking her heart. Do you understand?"

Scorpius's jaw clenched imperceptibly as he met his father's steady gaze. "Sir, let me assure you that you are mistaken. Rose Weasley and I are friends. That is all."

His father observed him with something akin to fascination, and took another long drag on his cigarette. He exhaled again."Then," he drawled, "Let me be the first to offer you my heartfelt congratulations. You are undoubtedly the first Malfoy to befriend a Weasley. A landmark occasion for both families I assure you." He paused again to let Scorpius digest these words, "Secondly, I believe it is the first time I have heard you describe a woman as a friend. I shall take it as a sign of your continuing personal growth."

Scorpius flushed lightly and not trusting himself to answer, nodded slightly.

"Very well. Excellent. That will be all Scorpius." His father stubbed out his cigarette and picked up his quill. Scorpius stood there willing himself to move. "Unless there is something else _you_ wanted to ask?" His eyebrow arched again.

Scorpius cleared his throat nervously. "Actually there was something."

His father put down his quill and subjected him to a keen stare. "Well?"

Scorpius swallowed and gathered his courage. "It's not related to work, it's... it's to do with Grandfather."

His father leaned back in his chair again, his grey eyes hardening imperceptibly. "Continue."

"I seem to remember that he was a member of something called the Brotherhood of Taranis." He paused and he noticed his father's jaw clench. "I was just wondering, what you knew of them?" He finished a little lamely.

There was a long pause, his father appeared to be deep in thought. "Scorpius," he said eventually, "may I ask what has prompted this interest?"

"I saw a photograph in the Prophet of somebody wearing the same ring that Grandfather used to wear, and I remembered that he told me once that it related to the Brotherhood of Taranis, and it just made me curious." Scorpius replied hoping that would be enough of an explanation.

His father gave him a look that seemed to strip his soul bare. Finally he got up and walked across to where Scorpius stood. "Scorpius," he said, "The Brotherhood of Taranis are not something that should concern you. They are dangerous, you would do best to avoid enquiring too deeply about them."

"But... they can't be that bad can they? I mean surely..." He felt his father's hand on his arm.

"Son, they seek power, not openly you understand, but covertly and they are willing to use any means to obtain it."

"What about Grandfather? He was a member."

His father laughed hollowly, "Yes, he joined shortly after the defeat of the Dark Lord. Have you never wondered how he avoided prosecution for his part as a Death Eater?"

"I..."

"The Brotherhood protect their own Scorpius, but the cost of his membership, well, that was high."

"What do you mean?"

His father sighed bitterly. "The ring you mentioned is the same ring your mother touched after his death. It was enchanted you see, so that once he died it would..." His father trailed off his eyes glazed over as if he was reliving the past.

Scorpius felt physically sick. "They killed my mother?" his voice broke a little as he spoke.

His father hooked a finger under his chin and forced him to meet his gaze. "Indirectly, I suppose. We didn't realise how carefully the ring would have to be handled following his death. In some ways it was a tragic accident. I am quite serious now Scorpius, the Brotherhood have woven a web of power and control that reaches through the whole of the wizarding world. They are more dangerous then you can possibly comprehend. Do not pursue them. You will fail. Do you understand?"

Scorpius nodded, "Yes Father."

o0o

An owl fluttered in through the window of the Daily Prophet and landed on Rose Weasley's desk.

"Arggh! Not on the parchment you crazy bird! You'll smudge the ink!"

She shooed the beleaguered owl away and blew on the ink trying to make it dry. The owl dropped the letter it was carrying on her desk and hooted loudly demanding payment.

"OK! Who ruffled your sodding feathers this morning?" She took a few knut's out of her swear box and placed them in the small leather pouch attached to the bird's leg.

"Bad day sweetheart?"said Lorcan snorting with laughter.

"It started really, really badly and it's only got worse. Do you know what arrived this morning? Do you?"

"What?"

Rose dug into her handbag and through a cream envelope on his desk. He opened it, removing a sheet of expensive cream coloured parchment edged in gold. "Oh! Lucy's getting married? Fabulous!"

"Don't get me wrong Lorc, I'm _very_ happy for her. _Really_." She jabbed her quill at the parchment viciously. "I just wish I wasn't going to have to attend _another _Weasley Wedding. It's the third one this year."

"Poor Rosie," he clucked his tongue in mock sympathy, "don't worry you'll find someone."

She narrowed her eyes at him dangerously. "You see that attitude is _exactly _what makes the entire occasion so unbearable."

He chuckled, "Lot's of elderly relatives asking when you're going to tie the knot?"

She rolled her eyes with irritation. "So Rosie!" She mimicked in a high pitched voice, "When is it going to be your turn? Here alone again? A career is no substitute for a good man, I hope you realise that."

Lorcan snorted with laughter. "I can't imagine anyone daring to say those things to you."

"That's the thing about elderly relatives, they get away with a lot because on some deep level they know I can't curse them into oblivion at a wedding." She blotted the ink on her parchment savagely.

"Maybe take a date, it would certainly shut them up." he suggested.

"I've tried that one before, they just gang up on whatever poor bastard I bring and badger him with questions until it drives them insane. The last date I took to a Weasley wedding apparated during the speeches after my Aunt Audrey asked him how many children he wanted to have with me_._ Since that day I've put an embargo on bringing men that I like to meet my family. It's just not worth it._" _

Lorcan began to laugh hysterically nearly falling off of his chair. "What is wrong with your family Rose?" he spluttered.

She sighed woefully, "No boundaries and an obsession with marrying young. I have confounded them all by choosing a career and this is how they punish me."

"Never mind. Fred never has a date to these things, so at least you won't be the only one." he patted her arm sympathetically.

"That's the only silver lining in this whole sorry business" she said, sounding slightly mollified. "Hey I'm meeting Fred for lunch later in the Leaky Cauldron would you like to join us?"

"Love too."

She turned her attention to the letter that had arrived. She smiled brightly as she opened it. "Actually Lorcan, I think my day might just be getting better!" She scribbled a hasty reply.

"Good news?"

"A possible break in a story I've been working on."

"Care to share?" he enquired raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing much to share yet. Anyway I better get an owl to send this reply."

o0o

An hour an a half later Rose and Lorcan were seated in a cosy nook by an open fire at the Leaky Cauldron waiting on Fred. Hannah Longbottom bustled across to greet them.

"Rose! Lorcan!" She exclaimed jovially, "So lovely to see you! How are you both?" She kissed them each on the cheek and beamed.

"Fine thanks Hannah. How are you?" replied Rose politely.

"Good thanks! Busy, but I can't complain. Can I get you anything to eat or drink?" she inquired kindly.

"We'll hold off ordering until Freddie joins us. He's running late, as usual."

"Och, typical! Well let me know when you're ready and I'll sort you something out." she hurried away to serve her other customers.

They didn't have to wait too long before the tall muscled form of Fred Weasley sauntered over with a sheepish smile on his face. "Sorry guys. I got caught at the store." Fred worked at Weasley Wizard Wheezes with his Dad. "It's so busy there at the moment I can hardly believe it." He leaned forward and kissed Rose on the cheek and then turned to thumped Lorcan affectionately on the back. "How's things?" He said flopping down in a seat.

"Terrible." Grunted Rose miserably.

"Why? What's up?"

"Wedding invitation." said Lorcan in a stage whisper.

"Oh yeah." He pulled a face. "Hey, shall we order some food?"

The called Hannah over and ordered lunch. Rose however was eyeing Fred with deep suspicion, "You don't seem that bothered about the wedding this time." She said.

He shrugged, "I guess not."

Her frown deepened, "You're not taking a date are you?"

He looked guiltily at her.

"Fred!" She exclaimed in agitation, "You can't do this to me! Who? Who are you going to inflict our family upon?"

He screwed up his face as though bracing for impact "Abby." He replied looking at her out of one eye.

"Abby?! I thought you were breaking up with her?"

"Well, I tried! But she was wearing this red top, it was very low cut and I got... distracted." He paused rubbing his face as Hannah bought across three flagons of butterbeer. "Then when I got the invitation this morning she kind of assumed that I would be taking her and it all just got a bit... awkward."

Rose shook her head in disbelief. "You are such a pussy. No, I can't even say that! That's an insult to pussy's everywhere. You are such a... such a... complete, total... ARSE!"

Lorcan watched this entire scene with unrestrained amusement. "Look at it this way, if you take her to the wedding, from everything Rosie has told me, _she _may dump _you_, once she's met your relatives." he interjected.

"Hey! I hadn't thought of that!" Said Fred looking brighter by the minute.

"Great." Grumbled Rose, "I'm so happy for _you_! Now if only I had the foresight to date someone I didn't like so I could use the wedding as an excuse to dump them we'd all be happy wouldn't we!" she finished with heavy sarcasm.

"I knew you should have stuck with divination at school!" Joked Lorcan. She glared at him.

"Sorry Rosie" Said Fred contritely, "It does suck that the whole clan are going to be breathing down your neck."

She sighed dramatically as Hannah brought across their food. "It's OK Freddy. I can't stay mad at you for long. I shall just tell anyone who asks to jump up their own arse and die because I'm happy with my career and that's that."

"Yeah we both know that you're not going to do that though." Said Fred ruefully.

"It's a shame you can't take someone really inappropriate just to wind them up." Interpolated Lorcan.

Rose sniggered, "I can see it now! Hello Aunt Audrey, here's my boyfriend Cyril, he drinks three bottles of firewhiskey a day, has seven different children by four different women, genital herpes and recently escaped from Azkaban and guess what? We're going to be married! Aren't you pleased? At least I won't die an old maid now! At twenty-fucking-one!"

The two guys snorted with laughter and the rest of the lunch passed happily enough.

"Right then Rosie, time to be getting back to the office. We can't sit here gassing all day." Said Lorcan playfully, jumping to his feet.

"I'm not going back yet. I arranged to meet someone."

"Really? Who?"

"Scorpius, we're meeting here for a drink in about fifteen minutes."

"Scorpius... Scorpius Malfoy!" exclaimed Fred in something approaching disbelief.

"Yup" she nodded.

"What? How?" Spluttered Lorcan.

"It's not a date is it?" asked Fred incredulously.

"No" She laughed carelessly, "He's just a friend. We hung out at that ball a couple of evenings ago and it was kind of fun. He's not quite the colossal prick I thought he was. He's actually quite nice and anyway," she added reasonably, "he's helping me on a story."

They looked at her agog. Then Lorcan said reflectively, "You should take him to that bloody wedding. That I would have to see."

Fred turned and gave Lorcan a slight frown, "Yeah, because I've always wanted to know what my Uncle Ron would look like_ actually_ having a stroke."

Rose shook her head at her two friends and laughed. "You're both being ridiculous, and I can tell you right now that nothing like that is going on. Although," she added as an afterthought, "If I did invite him it would serve them all right."

"Do it Rose!" said Lorcan mischievously.

"Good Lord, your name should be Loki not Lorcan mate." Fred shook his head. Rose giggled. They bid her farewell and left together. Rose sat back down in a particularly squashy armchair and gazed into the fire while she waited for Scorpius to arrive.

She didn't have to wait long, he was early. Which, she reflected, was not surprising. He always seemed so precise, so carefully controlled. Of course he would be early. She waved at him as he entered the pub, he was impeccably dressed in a smart charcoal coloured three piece suit, with a crisp pale blue shirt. His blonde hair was slicked back in his characteristic style. As he drew closer though she observed that his face was pale and drawn and his eyes had a strange haunted quality.

She stood up to greet him, "Hi Scorpius, How are you?"

He sat down in the chair opposite her and sighed heavily rubbing his hands over his face and through his hair. "I've had better days." He admitted his voice muffled by his hands.

"You want a drink? I can get you one."

"Yeah I'll have a Firewhiskey. A double. I'll get it though you sit here." He moved to get up.

"Oh sit down! I'll get it. Have you eaten? Would you like me to get you something?"

He sighed and leaned back in his chair massaging his temples with his fingers. "I've not eaten but honestly I'm not hungry. Just the alcohol please."

She gave him a long look. "OK. I'll be right back."

She returned with two double Firewhiskeys and a large bag of pork scratchings which she opened and put on the small table in front of them. "It's not good to drink on an empty stomach." She chided gently.

Scorpius picked up a pork scratching and eyed it dubiously "What is this?" He said raising an eyebrow.

"You don't know what a pork scratching is?" Rose replied incredulously.

"No."

"Deep fried salted pig skin. They are delicious! Although technically I'm a vegetarian so I shouldn't eat them."

"I'll take your word for it" he grimaced and went to replace it.

"No. Eat it. You need to eat something Scorpius and it will do you good to try something new." She grinned, "Expand your horizons. Consider it a sign of personal growth!"

He sighed, "You are the second person to concern themselves with my personal growth today." He replied and popped the pork scratching in his mouth chewing on it thoughtfully.

"Who was the first?"

He winced as he swallowed and then took a quick slug of whiskey to obliterate the taste, "My father."

"What do you think of them." She gestured to the open pack.

"It's not caviar, but it'll do." He picked up another one and ate it.

"Very good." She looked at him with concern. "Don't take this the wrong way Scorpius, but you look awful. What's happened?"

He paused for a little bit, "I spoke to my father."

"About the Brotherhood?" she asked.

"Among other things, yes." He took another slug of firewhiskey.

"It didn't go well?" She probed gently.

"No. Well," He considered the matter, "in some ways it was informative, but I can't say it went well."

She waited for him to continue and when he didn't she responded, "Do you want to talk about it?"

He leant back in his chair and tapped his finger against his glass. His melancholy eyes met hers. "Yeah I do. I just... I don't know where to start."

She reached out and placed her hand over his so that his fingers stilled their incessant tapping against the glass. She squeezed them gently. "Start at the beginning." She said with a small smile.

He looked down at their hands, still joined now resting on the table and felt his heart beat a little faster in his chest.

He sighed still focussing on their hands. "He wanted to know how the ball went. Asked if I'd read your article actually, he said it was a 'glowing report'"

"He liked it? Great. What did you think?" She said.

He glanced across at her. "I haven't read it yet." he admitted a little guiltily. "I overslept after the late finish at yours and then I had a very early meeting the following morning so I've not had a chance to catch up with the news. I will though." He continued earnestly.

She gasped in mock dismay and then smiled mischievously at him, "Not read it! That's a cardinal sin that is."

He gave her a small smile and looked back down at their entwined hands. He swallowed and felt himself flush slightly, "He warned me against um... indulging myself with you." He snuck a glance at her to see her reaction. Her eyes widened with barely suppressed mirth. "He seemed to think that I would break your heart and give the Weasleys even more reason to hate the Malfoys."

She laughed at that. "I hope you explained that we're just friends." She scolded lightly.

"I did. That's when he told me that I was exhibiting personal growth."

Rose raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"I don't really have female friends as such." He admitted a little guiltily. "I mean I like women!" he continued hurriedly, "it's just I don't normally stay with them long enough to ah..."

"Get to know them?" Rose finished for him.

"Yeah."

"Now I feel special." She grinned at him. "If it makes you feel any better Freddy and Lorc were just trying to wind me up about being friends with you, so you're not the only one getting flack for it. Although," she reflected, "my issues are different to yours I think. I have lots of male friends. I'm just fucking lousy at relationships."

"In fairness," he responded, "I can't say I've ever had anything that would constitute a relationship. I just really, really like sex." he mumbled, taking another sip of whiskey and then coloured slightly as he realised that he'd actually said that last part aloud.

Rose gave a snort of laughter, "Well duh! Who doesn't?" She brushed her thumb likely across his knuckle. "So what else did he say?"

"I asked him about the Brotherhood of Taranis." his face became dark and brooding, "He warned me away from it. Told me they were dangerous."

"Did he say why?" She queried.

He released her hand and ran both his hands through his hair leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. "Yeah. He said, that they crave power, but covertly. They manipulate and control people and organisations by the sound of things. My Grandfather joined them after the war and their influence managed to stop him getting arrested for being a deatheater."

Rose sat in stunned silence. "So that implies that if Bulstrode is involved with the Brotherhood of Taranis, they may well of pulled the strings to get his freedom. Which means they have influence in the Wizengamot. That's just fucking scary." She shivered a little.

"He also said," He paused as his voice broke a little, "That the ring that killed my mum." He swallowed painfully, willing himself to get the words out. "The ring that killed my mum was that ring."

"Oh Scorpius! I'm so sorry. I'm..." She reached for his hand and took it again. "I don't know what to say."

"He warned me. Told me that I shouldn't go near them. That they're too dangerous."

They sat in silence for a few minutes considering these words.

"What do you want to do Scorpius?" She asked.

His jaw clenched and he looked at her with hard eyes. "Take the bastards down."

o0o

**Dun Dun Dunnnn! The plot thickens... I really really hope you are all enjoying it.**

**Please if you like the story or have any constructive criticism then take the time to review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**So here we are. Another week anot-her chapter. I just want to say a big thank-you to those who took the time to review. Supershenni – I'm glad you enjoyed the flashbacks. I was worried it would throw off the pace a bit, this chapter doesn't have any in. But I promise to put one in the next chapter just for you!**

o0o

They had sat a little longer in the Leaky Cauldron, finishing their drinks both lost in their own thoughts. Scorpius's brow furrowed as he brooded on the events of the day. Rose sat in companionable silence watching the flames of the open fire leap and dance in the grate and throw eerie shadows against the chipped and faded paint of the pub wall. When they finally stood to leave it was nearly four o'clock and the autumn sunshine was dipping in the sky, the air was crisp.

"We should meet up," said Rose, finally breaking the silence. "We need to plan out what we're going to do next. Probably somewhere private."

"Agreed. Tomorrow is Saturday, come to mine in the morning."

"The ministry paperwork is already at mine." Rose countered.

"So bring it with you." He replied.

"Or you could come to mine." She suggested.

"No." He said a little curtly.

"Why not?" She demanded with some asperity.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because I want to sit on a chair and not on a bed. Maybe it's because when I'm at yours all I can think about is how _badly _I want to tidy it. Maybe it's because I don't think we should be discussing something this confidential when one of your cousins could appear at any moment. Or maybe it's all of the above. Take your pick _Rose._" He finished irritably.

She eyed him dangerously. "If we're going to work together _Scorpius_ much less be friends, you better watch your mouth. I'll let you off today because I feel for you. You've had a shitty, shitty day and honestly my heart goes out to you; but just so you know, I do a mean bat bogey hex and I'm not afraid to use it."

His eye's softened a little. "Sorry Rose. I'm not good company today. Please can we meet at mine? I can make you lunch." He offered dolefully.

She relented. "Fine, if it means that much to you then I'll come to yours. Tomorrow morning it is." She squeezed his hand a little. "Try not to dwell on it too much. We'll get to the bottom of all this." Turning she pulled the collar of her coat up against the cool air and made her way down the street.

Scorpius watched her go, the glowing tangerine of the autumn evening sun lighting her fiery hair ablaze as she walked away and he felt as if any warmth and comfort he had from her presence was leaving with her. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed deeply, feeling cold and adrift. He needed to feel in control again, to feel something, anything.

He needed to get laid.

He made his way back into the bar and ordered a drink. It was going to be a long night.

o0o

That evening Rose decided to pay a visit to her parents before making her way home and see if they could shed any light on the Brotherhood of Taranis. Her father worked for the ministry as an auror and her mother worked for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, so presumably they might have some information about it. Her parents still lived in her childhood home, a large rambling cottage about two miles outside of the village of Otterford in Somerset. It was secluded from the small country lane that ran along side it, sheltered by tall sycamore and oak trees which in the summer lent dappled shade to the large garden. Rose apparated to the front gate and made her way along the winding gravel path that led through the trees where she and Hugo had run wild as children, past the little brook that cut across the garden gurgling gently and slightly swollen from the autumn rain. She continued along to where she could finally see the front door of her parents cottage with it's grey stonework, thatched roof and the last few pink roses of the year climbing gracefully around the wooden door. A light shining from a crack in the curtains told her someone was home. She paused momentarily to take in the view, her heart feeling full, before walking up the path to the front door. A little engraved slate plaque on the wall by the door read:

_Home is the glow you hold in your eye  
Home is the emotion that makes you cry  
Home is safe and a place of peace  
Home is where all strivings cease _

She touched the faded words, a small smile playing on her lips and then she knocked at the door and a moment later her Dad opened it. Ron Weasley was as tall as ever, but standing in the doorway of the small cottage he seemed especially enormous and as the light from the corridor behind him caught his flaming red hair he seemed to radiate with warmth. Upon seeing her he broke into a massive smile which she returned wholeheartedly.

"Rosie! Sweetheart! This is a surprise." He stepped forward and gave her a massive bear hug nearly lifting her off her feet. "Come in, come through to the kitchen and I'll make you a drink."

"Cheers Dad, I'm parched." she said following him up the long narrow corridor to the kitchen.

"Cup of tea do you?" he asked.

"Yes. That'll be fab, thanks." she replied.

He filled a shiny copper kettle with water, put in on the stove and murmured "Incendio." Immediately flames licked the sides. Rosie took a seat at the chunky wooden table in the centre of the room.

"How are you Rosie? What brings you to this neck of the woods." He grinned at her.

"They joy of your company obviously!" She replied jovially.

"Well nobody could blame you for that" he quipped beaming at her as the kettle began to whistle. Turning he busied himself with preparing the tea and then carefully carried over two steaming mugs of sweet tea.

"Did you get the invitation to Lucy's wedding?" He asked her slyly.

Rose scowled. "Yes and you can stop right there."

"Aw come on it's not that bad." he wheedled.

"Oh like you have any idea." She retorted acidly, "You don't know what it's like to have pressure from such a big family to reach their aspirations. When all you want to do is be accepted for yourself."

He smiled at her wryly, "Yeah, you're right I have _no_ idea what _that's _like. Besides sweetheart, you know that your mum and me just want you to be happy yeah? A career is what you always wanted. You've got it and you've worked hard. Fuck the others and follow your passion."

She met his eyes and felt ashamed. "Sorry Dad, I know there's no pressure from you and Mum. I know you know what it's like. Youngest boy in a family full of over achievers and all that. I know I shouldn't let them irritate me as well. It's just some of them are so bloody pushy... and the truth is I am achieving what I want to achieve. So why can't they focus on that instead of nagging on at me about my love life?"

He leaned over and ruffled her hair affectionately. "Fuck Fucking weddings." He said gruffly. "You're my beautiful brilliant girl and I am _so_ proud of you and everything you are."

She grinned up at him impishly "Don't you have to say that, because you're my Dad. Isn't it enshrined in law somewhere."

"I dunno. We could check with your mother though. She's bound to know... doesn't stop it being true though."

There was a loud _crack_ and then the sound of footsteps in the hallway, moments later her mother appeared in the kitchen doorway, her brown hair gathered in a loose bun from which tendrils of hair escaped in all directions. She carried an armful of paperwork. "Ron! Did you manage to pick up a copy of the... Rose! Darling what a wonderful surprise!" Her mother dropped the paperwork and parchment fluttered to the floor as she flew to her daughter and embraced her warmly.

"Hi Mum! Good day?"

"Oh it was OK." Replied her mother squeezing her tightly, "but it's so much better now I've seen you." Her father cleared his throat. She laughed, "And you too of course." Letting go of Rose she skirted the table and dropped a kiss on her husbands cheek. "There's so much work going on at the moment, it's really, really frantic, it has been all week." She turned to pick up the fallen parchments and Rose moved to help her.

"Cup of tea?" called Ron, already moving across the kitchen to refill the kettle.

"Oh yes. I'm positively gasping." She collapsed in one of the chairs and Rose sat next to her.

They sat together round the kitchen table in the warm glow of the kitchen, an oasis of light, love, memories and laughter as the long shadows of twilight crept in all around them. Rose could almost forget the sinister reasons for her visit as they reminisced together and caught up with the latest family news.

Eventually her Dad got up and started to make some food and Rose was easily convinced to stay for dinner. Within no time at all he was serving up huge platefuls of pasta in a delicious puttenesca sauce and pouring them each a glass of wine. At this point her mother, with her customary incisiveness looked across and said. "So what _really_ brings you hear tonight Rose?"

She felt the peace and contentment that had settled over her dissipate like air from a slowly leaking tire and in it's place a slow trickle of fear pooled in her stomach. "I can't just come to see my wonderful parents?" She said lightly.

Hermione looked at her perceptively. "Of course, but that's not _why_ you came."

Her parents gazed at her and Rose felt herself blush slightly. "OK, you got me. I came across something while I was working on a story and I wondered if you might be able to shed some light on it."

"O'course Rosie. Whatssit?" Said her father through a mouthful of pasta.

"Ron" Chided her mother reprovingly.

"Sorry" He said swallowing.

"Have you guys ever heard about the Brotherhood of Taranis?" Rosie asked.

Her parents glanced at each other and then looked back at her. Her mother shook her head in puzzlement. Her father leaned back in his chair and scratched his head. "Yeah, I've heard of them, they're like the big bad secret society supposedly pulling the strings throughout the wizarding world. Anything bad happens and nut job conspiracy theorists say it was them."

"Ah" said her mother thoughtfully, "Like the Illuminati." The other two paused and raised their eyebrows at her quizzically. "Equivalent kind of muggle organisation. A legend of course, but a useful scapegoat."

Her Dad nodded, "Exactly! Why has someone been telling you that the Brotherhood of Taranis are responsible for something?"

Rose laughed hollowly with a sinking feeling, "Yeah... but I'd never heard of it so I wanted to check it out y'know, make sure it wasn't just a load of bloody rubbish."

"Language Rose!" Her mother scolded with a small smile.

"Ah well." Said her Dad leaning back on two legs of his chair. "I'm glad we could put your mind at rest then. Dessert anyone?"

"No thanks Dad, I'm not hungry any more. That was delicious though. Thanks." She pushed her plate away and tried to give him a bright smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Everything she had heard from Scorpius today had convinced her that the Brotherhood of Taranis were very real. Her father looked at her in surprise because she rarely refused dessert.

"Are you sure you're OK Rose?" Asked her mother watching her in concern.

"Yeah. It's just... ah never mind. I'm just being silly."

"Rose," said her mother seriously. "Your father is an auror, I work in the department of Magical Law Enforcement. I'm telling you unequivocally, that if there were some big shadowy organisation pulling the strings in the Wizarding World, we would at least be _aware _of it's existence."

Rose looked up into her mother's kind brown eyes and smiled a genuine smile. "Of course you would Mum. Sorry, it's just been a long week." She put her hand over her mothers and squeezed it gently. "Ignore me."

"Never!" Declared her Dad walking round behind them and putting an arm around each of them and squishing them together. "You know what will make you feel a lot better though Rosie." He murmured in her ear.

"Dessert?" She replied with a wry smile.

"Exactly!" He said and waggled his eyebrows at her.

She chuckled throatily. "OK, you've won me over."

o0o

She woke early and spent a good couple of hours preparing all the paperwork to take across to Scorpius's apartment. It was ten o'clock in the morning when she finally managed to gather everything together. She apparated across to the front door of his penthouse suite at the Grange Hotel and knocked smartly on the door. There was no answer. She sighed heavily and knocked loudly again, there was still no answer but listening hard she thought she could _just _make out the sound of somebody stirring inside. She was just in the process of knocking for the third time when the door swung open and Scorpius stood in the doorway. He was wearing the bottom of half of a pair of loose fitting pyjamas, he was lean and his blonde hair was tousled and curling slightly at the ends. He was unshaven and his grey eyes had purplish rings under them which suggested he had had very little sleep.

"Wake you up did I?" Rose said a little waspishly and she stalked past him into the flat.

"Rose?!" He said a little groggily massaging his temple with his fingers "Wha...?"

She looked at him a little disbelievingly "We only arranged this _yesterday _afternoon. How can you possibly have forgotten?"

"Oh. Oh Merlin." He said paling slightly and looking a little guiltily at her. "Of course. I'm so sorry."

She looked up at him more amused then angry now. "Late one was it?"

He ran a hand through his hair and smiled at her a little ruefully. "Uh, yeah. You could say that."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I think in your position I would have spent the night drowning my sorrows as well. How about I make us both a coffee?" She continued a little more sympathetically.

She walked through to the spacious kitchen and began opening cupboard doors looking for mugs. "Bugger me this kitchen is a bit of a maze isn't it. Where do you keep everything?"

He followed her through dazedly and shook his head a little trying to clear it. "Um, here, just a minute." He walked over and stood behind her reaching up to open a high cupboard door." Their hands touched briefly as they both reached for the same mug. "Sorry Rose," he said recoiling from her touch a little, "I'm still not with it."

She arched an eyebrow at him playfully. "Sit down before you hurt yourself," she joked, gesturing at a nearby stool.

He sat quietly on the stool with his elbows on the worktop watching her as she prepared two cups of coffee.

"How do you take it?" She asked.

"Black. No sugar." He responded.

"Hey! Me too!" She beamed back at him. "My Dad always tells me that drinking black coffee is a crime against nature.".

She handed him the coffee and then stood opposite him across the counter watching him intently.

He met her gaze curiously wilting a little under her scrutiny. "What?" He said defensively after a while.

She shrugged a little, "I was just thinking that I've never seen you with curly hair. I like it better like this rather then slicked back." She grinned at him cheekily, "You know, since you asked."

He flushed a little, feeling uncharacteristically embarrassed at her compliment. He put his coffee down in front of him and scratched the back of his neck. "I should um... put some proper clothes on."

She grinned at him, "It might be a plan."

At that exact moment there was a noise from his bedroom that sent a chill down his spine. "Scorp?" called a voice seductively, "Scorp, come back to bed." His eyes widened and he paled visibly.

Rose stiffened and her jaw dropped open. "Is there a woman back there?" she mouthed.

He nodded mutely.

"And you didn't think to mention that?" Rose hissed at him as the sound of footsteps approached.

"I forgot, I picked her up after you left yesterday. I'll get rid of her. Don't worry." he mumbled in embarrassment.

A tall elegant brunette with glossy hair, bright blue eyes and long tanned legs wandered into the kitchen wrapped in a towel. "Scorp?" She called, "where did you go. I've had a shower, but if you fancy joining me we can always..." her voice died in her throat as she caught sight of Rose. "Scorpius who's this?"

He swallowed awkwardly. "Ella this is Rose. Rose meet Ella."

"It's Ellen actually" said the brunette acidly.

"Um of course. I uh..."

Rose had been watching this scene unfold with growing amusement and a smidgen of irritation. At this point though she decided it would be cruel not to intervene. "Scorpius!" She exclaimed dramatically, "How could you?" She stalked round to where he sat looking bemused and slapped him across the face forcefully. "I can't believe you would do this to me."

Ellen's face dropped in horror. "You two are in a relationship?" She said appalled.

"We're supposed to be!" said Rose with mock fury still looking at Scorpius her eyes dancing. "How could you do this to me Scorpius. It's been five years and you still can''t be faithful."

Scorpius bit his lip, wincing as bright red fingermarks appeared across his cheek. Ellen looked at him murderously "How could you do this?"

Scorpius shrugged his mouth opened noiselessly unable to find the words to respond to the situation that was unfolding.

"Unbelievable!" Ellen sputtered "I am so sorry," she said turning to Rose. "I'll leave straight away. I didn't even know he had a girlfriend _Please_ believe me."

Rose turned and fixed her with a look that suggested she was a martyr pushed beyond the bounds of all endurance. "I don't blame you. You don't know the half of it." She put a hand to her forehead dipping her head and her voice trembled slightly. "You'd better go, we... we have a lot to discuss here."

"Of course, of course" Ellen blushed and backed out of the room muttering something that sounded a lot like "What a fucking bastard." under her breath. A minute later they heard the tell tale sign that she had apparated.

Rose turned to Scorpius quivering with barely suppressed laughter. "No need to thank me!" She said before exploding into giggles.

Scorpius rubbed his face where the red fingermarks still showed brightly against his pale skin. "Did you have to do that? What if I wanted to see her again?" He grumbled, "besides that slap really hurt."

"Consider it payback for forgetting our meeting." She said cheerfully. "Besides we both know you wouldn't have contacted her again."

He arched an insolent eyebrow at her, "How can you be so sure?"

She met his gaze challengingly. "You. Couldn't. Remember. Her. Name." She said slowly enunciating each word. Her hand on her hip.

He looked at her suddenly boyish, all traces of haughtiness gone. "Oh yes. I forgot about that."

She laughed affectionately, "You forgot that you forgot her name?"

"Yeah, that's not very good is it?" he replied ruefully. "Merlin, I have a problem."

"Intimacy issues." She said flippantly. "We need to find you a good woman. Preferably one you can hold a conversation with whilst remembering her name. After you've cracked that you can become friends and then _eventually_ get round to the shagging part. I have it on good authority that's what happens in normal, healthy relationships."

He looked at her for a moment, his face inscrutable. He shook his head a little as if to clear it. "I better go and get dressed." He said changing the subject as he glanced down at his bare chest.

"That would be a start." Said Rose, "I'll get the paperwork out. Where do you want to sit?"

"There's a formal dining room through there with a table we can use." He gestured vaguely "I never use it, well not for eating on anyway. It'll do."

"I remember and can I just say ewww!" Grimaced Rose and she walked through to an enormous room with a large long dark table which could comfortably have seated sixteen people. She began rifling through the paperwork sorting it into various piles. She was still in the middle of doing this when Scorpius returned now appropriately attired in blue jeans and a navy blue top. She noted he had combed his hair but not slicked it back and she smiled slightly.

"Here's all the paperwork from the ministry" She gestured to one pile. "Here are the muggle news paper articles about the murder. These are interviews I've conducted with various people connected to the case."

He pulled up a chair across from her and sat down heavily running a hand through his hair. "That is a lot of paperwork. Where do you suggest we begin?"

"I suggest we go back over all the paperwork making a note of anything that stands out. That way you can fully familiarise yourself with all the details that we have and we'll both be on the same page."

"Fair enough." Agreed Scorpius.

They worked in companionable silence, only broken by the ticking of a large grandfather clock, the rustling of paper and the scratching of quill against parchment. When the clock finally chimed midday, Scorpius looked round surprised that at how quickly the time had gone.

"Would you like me to make you some lunch?" He offered.

Rose leaned back in her chair and stretched. "Mmm yes please."

She followed him out to the kitchen and sat on a stool at the counter while he pottered about in the kitchen preparing ingredients. "What are you making?" Rose said curiously.

"Eggs Florentine." he replied.

"From scratch?" She said disbelievingly.

"Yes." He looked at her a little mockingly. "I can cook you know."

"I just imagined you'd have a house elf to do this sort of thing for you." Admitted Rose.

"I do and sometimes they do." He replied nonchalantly, beginning to prepare a Hollandaise Sauce. "I like cooking though, it's one of the few things that relaxes me."

She looked at him with a small smile on her face. "So last night. You didn't think of coming home and baking a cake to work off the stress of the day instead?"

His eyes locked with hers and glittered with amusement. "No, not when there were more immediate ways of relieving the tension."

She shook her head, "Yes that poor girl this morning. She was a nice person Malfoy." she said a little reproachfully.

"I'm sure she was, and I showed her a nice time. We were mutually consenting adults. Besides you're the one who made her feel bad about it." He replied a little coolly.

"True" Rose agreed nodding carefully, "And Merlin knows my track record with relationships is abysmal, but I don't think I could have a one night stand."

He paused his preparations and looked up at her in shock. "You've never had a one night stand?"

"No." She replied shaking her head firmly. "That wouldn't be my thing at all." He looked at her agog. She grinned at him. "You're about to tell me that you've never had a relationship that lasted beyond a night aren't you?"

"Now, now, I wouldn't go that far. A long weekend is about my limit though." He admitted.

"Well five months seems to be mine. That's the longest relationship I've ever had." She revealed, "They always end the same way, I'm committed to my career and they resent it. They make me choose. I choose work. The relationship ends in recrimination and regret."

He gave her a knowing glance, "That's the beauty of the one night stand. Both parties know what they are getting into and what they are getting out of it."

She looked at him keenly, "Really? You're sure that no one has ever expected you to take it further. Or assumed that it was a precursor to a relationship?"

He looked a little guilty. "Well, occasionally that happens, but once I haven't contacted them for a while they get the idea."

"Humph" She snorted. "Selfish sod."

He began boiling the water to poach the eggs. "I know I am. It's all part of my charm." He grinned at her.

"I spoke to my parents last night." She said changing the subject. "They reckon the Brotherhood of Taranis is a myth. My Mum had never even heard of it."

He looked up at her suddenly serious, "What do you think?" he asked in a low voice.

She paused and looked thoughtful. "I think we need to investigate more and I'm not sure where to begin to be honest. We could really stand to get access to the muggle police reports on the murder."

"We also need to find out something more concrete about the Brotherhood of Taranis. If it's existed for hundreds of years there must be something written somewhere about it. I mean, who or what is Taranis?" Scorpius added pensively.

"I don't know." Rose shook her head deep in thought. "We need a library."

Scorpius began to serve the eggs Florentine onto two pristine white plates. "My father has a massive library in Wiltshire, but I can't see us being able to gain access to it without his knowledge."

Rose chewed her lip distractedly and then suddenly jumped to her feet and banged her hand on the counter top. "Hogwarts!" She almost shouted. "They have a library!"

"How are we going to get into Hogwarts much less use the library?" Said Scorpius in confusion. He handed Rose her plate and some cutlery.

"I'm going there next weekend. It's the ten year anniversary of The Beacon and as the founder and first ever editor they have invited me back to celebrate this weekend with a party. You should come the invitation says I can bring a guest, we can use the opportunity to scour the library." She paused and took a bite of the eggs florentine. "Mm-mm" she rolled her eyes and shook her head swallowing it. "This is amazing. Scorpius you're a good cook."

He smirked insolently at her. "I know. I make a point of being good at the things I enjoy."

She scowled at him. "Perv. You've always got to lower the tone. So will you come with me to Hogwarts next weekend?"

He nodded. "Lets do it."

"I'll have to come up with some kind of plan to get into the muggle police records as well." She said thoughtfully. "It'll probably mean breaking the law." She looked at him challengingly. "Are you up for that?"

"Oh yes. Bring it on."

o0o

**The words on the plaque at Ron and Hermione's house are taken from the poem, Home by Aisha Patterson. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Next time our daring duo break into a muggle police station and then return to Hogwarts. At least that's the plan!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the delay in posting. This chapter took an awfully long time to plan and I suffered from a bit of writers block. I'm not sure if it has worked that well, but it has moved the story where it needs to be . A couple of notes: When Scorpius and Rose go to the police station, one of the characters, Detective Chief Inspector Clark has his rank abbreviated at times to DCI and also Chief Inspector and I use the terms interchangeably though they mean the same thing. Also I apologise in advance for my butchering of Hagrid's accent. I'm useless at writing accents, but I feel I must at least attempt it. **

**As usual I thank you all for your follows and your reviews. If you have any comments or constructive criticism then please let me know. JKR owns most of the characters. I own nothing. **

o0o

The problem of how to get access to the muggle police records proved to be particularly tricky. Scorpius and Rose debated it at length. However after a good deal of spirited discussion in which they covered the pros and cons of the polyjuice potion, the difficulties of casting a good confundus charm and the complications of attempting to use magic near muggle technology they hit upon a plan that they both tentatively agreed on.

Scorpius felt elated, for the first time in as long as he could remember he felt engaged in the world around him, like a fog was lifting. As devastating as the news about the nature of his mother's death had been it felt like he was finally taking control over something in his life, something that mattered to him. It helped that Rose was an enthusiastic, witty and intelligent companion whose passion for uncovering the truth in this situation rivalled his own albeit for different reasons. They agreed to take the afternoon off work on the Friday together to try to implement their plan and then travel on to Hogwarts together.

When she finally left his apartment late on Saturday afternoon he could hardly believe how quickly the day had slipped away from them and he eagerly anticipated the coming week, something he couldn't have said in a very long time. It was as though he had been viewing the world in black and white and now since the ball it was very gradually being saturated with colour.

His friend Andreas Zabini commented on the change in him when they met up for their traditional Sunday afternoon drink at their local pub in Lewes. Andreas was a former Slytherin who was in the year below Scorpius at Hogwarts. Their fathers had been friends at school and their respective families were very close, so it was no surprise that Scorpius and Andreas maintained a good friendship throughout school and afterwards.

He arrived at the pub to find that Zabini was already there and had ordered them a pint. He was sitting at their usual table overlooking the beer garden. "Scorpius." He acknowledged, "How are you?"

Scorpius smiled, "Good thanks. Yourself?" he said as he pulled out the chair opposite and sat down.

"Same old same old." replied Andreas watching him with a quizzical look. "Dad was pleased with the way the gala ball went."

"Yeah, my Dad was too."

"He wasn't there was he?" he said disbelievingly.

"No of course not." Scorpius rolled his eyes. "He still knows what went on though. Called me in to debrief me earlier in the week."

Zabini winced sympathetically, "I bet that was pleasant."

Scorpius shook his head "It is what it is. We're not exactly the model family but I'm used to him." He sighed leaning back in his chair and his friend observed him closely.

"Don't take this the wrong way mate but you look... different." Said Zabini curiously.

"Is it the hair?" remarked Scorpius, "I'm experimenting with something different." he pushed back the long slightly curling tendrils of blonde hair that were falling forward into his eyes.

Zabini looked at him critically. "Partly I guess. It looks good by the way. Suits you. It's the first time I've seen you not wearing potion in your hair for about a decade. It's not just that though."

"No?"

"No, you seem more relaxed somehow. Happier. Like when I asked how you were you said you were good."

"And?"

"You don't normally mate, in fact while I think of it you don't seem that fussed about having seen your Dad and that isn't usual for you either. What's happened?"

Scorpius shrugged. "I don't know."

Andreas snorted in disbelief, took a swig of his drink. He looked at him over the rim of his pint and said astutely "Whoever she is try to hang on to her, she seems to be doing you some good."

"Who says it's a woman?" said Scorpius a little ruffled. "Can't I have had a good week?"

Andreas shrugged, "Of course, there's a first time for everything after all." He raised his glass. "I'm just glad to see you content for once. Cheers."

Scorpius gave his friend a small smile. "Cheers." He replied, raising his glass.

o0o

Detective Chief Inspector Clark was having an extremely busy Friday afternoon. He had a mountain of paperwork to get through, one outstanding murder case with no viable leads and a gang who had perpetrated two armed robberies to catch and to top it all off the Superintendent was breathing down his neck. He sat at his desk scribbling furiously whilst outside his subordinates buzzed around like busy bees in a hive.

There was a knock on the glass window of his office door. "What?!" He barked looking up in irritation.

Sergeant Lowell stood there with two very smartly dressed people who he did not recognise. The sergeant had a very befuddled look on his face as he opened the door. "Your four o'clock appointment Sir." He mumbled showing the two strangers into his office.

"What four o'clock appointment?" snarled DCI Clark. It was too late though. Sergeant Lowell had already turned rather awkwardly and teetered back across the office, clipping the side of a desk as he went and knocking a pile of papers out of someone's filing tray.

DCI Clark looked at the two strangers in irritation. They were both young, early twenties maybe, a man and a woman. The man was tall, lean and muscular with pale blonde hair swept back off his face and piercing gray eyes. He had a haughty demeanour and high cheekbones. His clothes were immaculate and expensive. A bit of a toff if DCI Clark was any judge of things. The woman was slim, tall for a woman with incredibly long, curly, vivid red hair that had obviously been wrestled into a pony tail but was already trying it's best to escape. She had warm, brown intelligent eyes, a ready smile and her pale skin was covered in freckles. She carried herself with an air of determined confidence. What this girl wanted she got, of that he was sure. "Detective Chief Inspector Clark?" She said offering her hand for him to shake. "I'm Milly Porter and this is my colleague Lucien Grey" She gestured to the tall blonde man. He shook their hands reluctantly.

"I'm sorry." He said in a voice that suggested he really wasn't. "I wasn't expecting anybody today. There must be some mistake."

"Oh dear!" Exclaimed Milly trying to look contrite. "How awkward." She took a seat in the chair opposite him. "I assure you I did arrange it through the proper channels."

"Well, I suppose I can spare five minutes," said DCI Clark grimacing inwardly. "Won't you sit down?" He gestured to Lucien, who also took a seat. "How can I help you today?"

"We're here about the girl who was found in the alley way." She said smoothly.

He looked at her sharply. "You have information about that?"

She returned his gaze without blinking. "No, but you do, and we need to know what you know."

DCI Clark laughed a little uncomfortably. "Very funny. Look, where are you from? You can't just walk in here and demand to know details about a metropolitan police case."

"Look Clark," drawled Lucien Grey in a bored voice. "We have been sent here by people very high up in the government. These people have, let us say, an _inter__est_ in this case. They want to see it resolved swiftly and they have asked us to come in and investigate it." As he was saying this Milly Porter stood casually and walking to the door, drawing down the shutter on the large glass window in his office door before moving to stand by the desk.

"Look here," blustered DCI Clark feeling unnerved, "You can't just wander in here and demand to see case files. There are protocols. I shall need to see some identification and have it confirmed from the superintendent. I shall..." He stopped suddenly a strange feeling of bewilderment washing over him. He couldn't quite remember what... what was going on. The memory of his last thought was like a silvery thread whipping away from him into a distant fog and he just couldn't hold on to the end of it. He blinked owlishly a couple of times and looked around him feeling confused.

These people. They were here from the government to help with the Jane Doe case. The girl who had been found burned in the alley. "Of course you need the case files." He said out loud. "I tell you what, I shall just print you up details of any reports we have from the system." He went to his computer and tried to turn it on. It stuttered and the screen went black. "Damn computer isn't working." he muttered. "I'll get Eve to print them up and bring them in." He went to his phone the line was dead. "What a damn peculiar day, nothing seems to be working." He walked to the door and stuck his head outside. "Eve?" He called several times. A harassed looking middle-aged woman made her way across the office. "Print me out copies of all the information we have on the alley way murder."

"Yes Guv." Eve paused craning her neck curiously to look at the strangers in his office. "Now Eve. Quick." he barked. She scuttled back across the office and began to log into her computer. He turned and wandered back to his desk somewhat abstractedly. He sat down in his chair heavily, trying to maintain focus on what was going on, but somehow his thoughts were just a jumble.

"Do you feel all right?" Said the red-headed girl kindly, what was her name again? Milly? Molly?. "I can get you a glass of water if you'd like." she added as he sank his head into his hands.

He shook his head a little, trying to clear it. "No. No. I'll be ok. I just, I've come over a bit funny. I can't quite..." He trailed off forlornly. They waited in silence for about five minutes. It would have seemed strange if his head hadn't been in such a confounded muddle.

There was a knock at the door which cut sharply through the silence and the blonde rose to answer it. "Ah you must be Eve," he heard Lucien say suavely, "Come in and join us. I believe you have something for us." He looked up in time to see Milly take the paperwork while Eve looked at Lucien with some akin to awe. She was blushing slightly.

"Yes, everything here. All the paper work to do with the case that was stored on the system." said Eve who was still staring at Lucien agog as he smiled winningly at her and closed the door carefully behind her and then taking her by the arm led her to the desk.

Milly was rifling through the paperwork. "Ah yes." She said in business like tones. "I should think this should be enough to be getting on with." She looked expectantly at Lucien. "If you could just..."

DCI Clark looked back at Lucien still feeling disorientated. "If you could just stand next to Eve please Chief Inspector." Said Lucien taking his arm and moving him into place.

Lucien seemed to be a holding a thin polished wooden stick in his hand. As potential weapons went it didn't seem particularly dangerous. "Yes of course but what's going on? What's that in your hand?" replied the Chief Inspector weakly.

"Nothing you need to worry about Chief Inspector, you and Eve have been extremely helpful. Now if you will just relax it will make the memory modification a lot easier." A thin green line of light erupted from the end of the strange implement and the memory of Lucien and Milly faded from his mind.

o0o

Scorpius and Rose made their way swiftly up the street from the police station. They didn't speak to each other until they were three or four streets away. Ducking into a small side street they finally paused for breath. Rose looked at Scorpius her face flushed and eyes bright. "You were brilliant in there!" She enthused. "That memory modification charm worked amazingly."

Scorpius looked down at her and smiled. "I was just relieved you were so quick to confund him. For a moment I thought we would be apparating from a muggle police cell."

She shook her head "We always knew we would have to confund him. Do you think they'll be alright though?"

He shrugged, "It was only a fairly minor memory to alter, I'm sure they'll only be disorientated for a few minutes. There should be no long term negative effects."

"Excellent. Well, shall we apparate back to yours? We can collect your luggage and get going to Hogwarts then?" She said.

"Sounds like a plan." said Scorpius grinning at her, he ran his fingers through his hair.

She grinned back and then launched herself at him without warning, giving him one of her massive bear hugs that he couldn't quite get used to. He returned it awkwardly. She jiggled against him in excitement. "I can't believe we did that!" She hissed in his ear, "You were amazing!"

"Thanks. So were you!" He said grateful that her position meant that she couldn't see him blush or the reaction she was causing if she continued. She released him, stepped back and looked at him, her eyes sparkling. Something about her always made him feel like an awkward teenager. "Shall we go?" he asked.

She linked her arm through his clutching the paperwork they had acquired. With a _crack_ he apparated them to his apartment. His small suitcase stood waiting by his fireplace. She reached into her handbag and pulled out a miniature suitcase. She muttered a quick spell and it grew to match the size of his own case.

"We have an hour until they're expecting us at Hogwarts." Said Rose uncertainly. "Hagrid is going to meet us by Hogsmeade and let us in." She looked at him askance.

"Would you like a drink" He suggested "Hot chocolate and a biscuit maybe?"

"That would be nice." She replied smiling up at him. "We could have a quick look at the paperwork as well."

She went and sat by the kitchen counter on a stool and Scorpius busied himself preparing the drinks. Within a few minutes he was sitting on the stool opposite her with a steaming mug of hot chocolate topped with marshmallows and whipped cream and a plateful of homemade chocolate biscuits.

"Merlin!" Said Rose with wide eyes. "If I keep visiting your house I'm going to need to go on a diet." She took a sip of the hot chocolate. "That is better than my Dad's" she said appreciatively. "If you ever decide to leave big business you could definitely open a café."

He looked at her over the rim of his mug a wry smile in his eyes. "I'll bear that in mind." He said drolly. "Perhaps you could break the news to my father."

"With pleasure. I'm not afraid of him!" She said archly, taking a bite of a biscuit. "These are unbelievable! Did you make them?"

He nodded. "I had a hard day at work yesterday and last night I was feeling anxious about today and these were the result."

"No beautiful women to seduce at work then?" She rejoined cheekily and took another biscuit. "Wow! I may have to move in." She joked, "Then you can cook for me all the time."

He raised an eyebrow and looked at her, "Feel free."

"I might hold you to that if Fred doesn't break up with Abby soon." She said meeting his gaze. "Although I'm not sure you could cope with my untidy ways."

He shrugged. "That's what house elves are for."

She smirked. "I have no objection as long as they're well paid. Although don't let my mother hear you say that. By the way, I have something for you." She jumped down from the stool and ran to her suitcase. She opened a side pocket and rummaged around producing a small package wrapped in brown paper. She handed it over to him and then sat back on the stool watching him. He looked at it in confusion. "Open it! Open it!" she exclaimed.

He undid the paper to reveal two small ceramic birds that were garishly painted in bright and unnatural colours. He picked one up and stared at in bemusement, it was enchanted and tweeted shrilly as he lifted it up. He put it down and looked at her. "Uh, thanks." He said flatly.

"Hideous aren't they?" She grinned at him.

"Very." He agreed. "You got them for me why exactly?"

"Knick-knacks" she replied glibly, "to make your house a home." She picked one up and it chirruped loudly. "They're also salt and pepper shakers, so practical too!" She smirked at him.

"How thoughtful." He said dryly. "They're just what I never knew I always wanted."

"We should name them." She said in amusement.

"Do you always name inanimate objects" he asked turning one with his finger but not lifting it.

"Only my most precious possessions." She replied brashly.

"Fine." He said considering the gaudy birds for a moment. "I'll call them Lucien and Milly." He glanced up.

Rose smiled at him, obviously pleased with his choice of name. "Excellent."

She pulled across the paperwork they had got from the police. "We can take a quick look at this. We have forty-five minutes before we have to meet Hagrid."

He nodded and they split the paperwork between them. As they read through the details it was as if the temperature in the room dropped and the atmosphere darkened. After five minutes Rose looked up at Scorpius her face pale and her eyes moist. "Scorpius, this is horrible." She dropped the paperwork on the table in front of her. "I have the initial police report here. It says that her body was found by someone cutting through the alleyway on their way to work at 5AM. They weren't even sure it was a woman at first. Her head was missing and her body had been burned to a crisp. They just noticed her charred arm sticking out from the a pile of rubbish that somebody had dumped in the alley. No witnesses have come forward and they have no way of identifying her. These horribly disturbing photographs of the corpse show why." She pushed the photographs away across the counter, unable to look at them. "Whoever did this is a sick fuck." her voice broke a little as she said it.

Scorpius reached out and pushed a stray red curl out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear. "Hey." He said gently, "We knew this was a grisly murder. It was always going to be hard to look at this stuff. But we have to try. Yeah?"

"I know." She sighed softly. "It's just I had so much fun orchestrating the whole thing where we broke into the police station with you. I kind of think I lost focus on what would come afterwards." She gestured at the pictures. "Who could do this to another human being and then just dump them?"

"I don't know" Said Scorpius seriously, "but I think it _was_ a magical crime."

"What makes you say that?" Asked Rose.

"According to the forensic" he stumbled a little over the unfamiliar word, "reports they have no idea how the fire was started. It says here there were no traces of accelerant on her. I'm not really sure what that means, but I'm assuming from the context that without magic, muggles must need something else to get the fire to take hold like petrol or something. After all people don't just spontaneously combust. In this instance there was nothing. Which is really odd."

"Hmm" nodded Rose thoughtfully. "So you think that the absence of any... accelerant... that magic is a real possibility."

"We should certainly consider it."

"We must be careful though, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. If only we could find something a bit more definite." She mused rifling through the paperwork looking for something that would stand out. "There's a list here of all the things that were found in the rubbish with her, each one had a photograph. None of them were burned but they listed every single thing. I cannot believe how thorough muggles are! Everything from empty packets to rotten food."

"Yes, it gives me a new found respect for them." Admitted Scorpius, "I thought I was attentive to detail but this takes it to a whole different level."

Rose gasped. "I've got it!" She said tensely.

"What?" Asked Scorpius leaning over to look at what she had found.

"One gold necklace with pendant found underneath the body."

"So?" He said in confusion.

"Look?" She pushed the picture of the necklace toward him. He felt as if a cold hand had gripped his stomach. The picture showed a tarnished gold chain with a pendent shaped like a wheel. It was unmistakably the symbol of the Brotherhood of Taranis.

He and Rose gazed at each other and then stared back down at the picture. "Shit!" Said Rose abruptly. "What do we do now?"

"Get to Hogsmeade." Replied Scorpius. "It's time to meet Hagrid."

o0o

It was exactly four o'clock when they apparated across to Hogsmeade village where Hagrid would be meeting them to walk them up to the school. They arrived with a pop outside the Three Broomsticks. The weather in Scotland was far colder than it had been down south. There was a light snowfall on the ground and a bitterly cold wind that whipped through the air and made your bones ache.

"Oh Circe. I should have realised it would be this cold in November in Scotland." Grumbled Rose. "This is my warmest coat and it turns out it's not warm enough." Her teeth chattered as she pulled her coat about herself.

"We could go in the Three Broomsticks and wait?" Suggested Scorpius.

Just then the door to the pub opened and a gust of warm butterbeer scented air enveloped them. "Rosie! There y'are! It's so good to see'ya!" Boomed Hagrid, he patted her on the back nearly knocking her over. "Y'bought a frien' then I'see." He turned to shake Scorpius' hand. "Scorpius! I r'member yer! I didn't know y'two were close." He looked at them both shrewdly.

"We weren't at school," said Rose by way of explanation, "but we've become friends since."

"I see! Well then, tha's great. We better make our way up t'the castle. I reckon there'll be a blizzard comin' in later." He looked Rose over. "Y'shoulda bought a better coat then tha' Rosie."

"Your telling me." She responded with chattering teeth. "I'd forgotten how cold it gets up here. I'm not acclimatised to this place any more."

Scorpius unbuttoned his large wool double-breasted trench coat and slipped out of it. "Come under here with me and we'll walk up together." He suggested.

"Good idea. I'll bring y'luggage." Agreed Hagrid hoisting both cases as if they weighed nothing at all.

"We won't be able to button it and then you'll get cold as well." Rose pointed out.

"We'll keep each other warm, and by the way, the more you argue about it the colder we are both getting." Scorpius said trying not to shiver. He stepped toward her and draped the coat over both their shoulders. She slipped one arm through his and held her side of the coat round trying to shield them from the icy wind. Scorpius took out his wand and enlarged the coat a little so it covered them better.

"Are y'done?" Grumbled Hagrid. "It's no'gettin' any warmer y'know."

"We'll manage." Replied Scorpius and the rather odd looking trio made their way through the village and up to the castle.

It was surprisingly warm and cosy under the coat, and even though the occasional icy blast made it's way through the gaps in the front their mutual body heat helped to keep them warm enough. They walked immediately behind Hagrid so that he blocked a lot of the iciest blasts. Rose's teeth stopped chattering. "Oh that is so much better" She murmured to Scorpius.

He couldn't help but agree even if he wasn't sure if his expensive Italian coat would survive being enlarged and worn simultaneously by two people. It was worth it.

o0o

_**Seventh Year. Hogwarts.**_

_He had always enjoyed Winter at Hogwarts._

_Not Christmas. Definitely not Christmas. He had never really understood it. That all seemed to be about family and presents, high spirited fun and the kind of warmth that seemed to radiate from within some people._

_He didn't have that. He might of before Mother got ill. He couldn't quite remember; now though it was definitely winter that resonated with him. The countryside uniform and pristine under a layer of fresh snow. The clear blue skies with pale sunshine. The gnarled bare trees grasping for the horizon like twisted arthritic hands reaching for the sky._

_He loved it when the air was so cold that breathing was almost painful and your breath came out in little white frosty puffs._

_On those mornings he would climb to the top of the astronomy tower before breakfast just to gaze out at the perfection of it all. Before the hustle and bustle of the day started. _

_This morning he could see a figure making their way back across the grounds to the castle, tramping through the deep snowfall leaving a little furrow in their wake. He squinted a little trying to work out who it was._

_As they neared he could see tufts of bright red hair sticking out at angles from under an ugly homemade woollen hat. It was definitely a Weasley and from the look of it probably Rose._

_He wondered where she had been so early on a Friday morning._

_Rose Weasley, he had decided last year, was something of a contradiction._

_On the face of it she was a mass of small imperfections. His critical eye had already noted all her flaws. She was a little too tall in his opinion. Her limbs were long and there was something coltish in her movements. Her hair slightly too long, too unruly and certainly too red. Her mouth was a little too wide and her teeth were too big, her face too freckled. Her eyes, which he had first noticed at the end of sixth year, were too expressive, they gave away every emotion. She would, he decided, be terrible at poker. She took almost no trouble over her appearance either. Her clothes were frequently untucked, crumpled and mismatched. She was too headstrong as well, too opinionated, over confident and fiercely intelligent and yet..._

_...he couldn't deny that the over all effect was somehow pleasing. The sum of so many flaws should be disastrous but he could not deny that with Rose there was a warmth to her personality that offset the myriad small imperfections and attracted him in spite of his own cool demeanour. _

_Rose Weasley was, he decided in a moment of clarity, perfectly imperfect._

_No good for him of course but still, objectively he could appreciate her._

o0o

**Thanks for reading. I really hope you enjoyed it. Hopefully the next update won't take quite as long. x**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi! Another chapter posted. Thank-you to all of you who took the trouble to review. I want to take the time to respond to a couple of the reviews specifically but I'll do that at the end of the chapter. I also want to say that the views Rose expresses about the Sorting Hat in this chapter don't reflect my own particularly. I just knew I wanted her to have written quite a controversial article at some point and this was what the plot bunnies gave to me! I hope to get another chapter out next week but I now have a stinking cold. Bleugh. **

o0o

They arrived safely into Hogwarts Castle. Hagrid bade them an affectionate farewell and insisted on taking their luggage on for them as Rose and Scorpius were almost immediately greeted by the incumbent headmistress Professor Sinistra. She had taken over from Professor McGonagall during their time at Hogwarts.

"Rose so lovely to see you." declared Professor Sinistra shaking her hand warmly. "Scorpius so wonderful to see you too. When Rose told me you were coming as her date I was over the moon, I'm so delighted for you both."

Rose coloured a little at the Professors assumption. "We're just friends actually. He's here as my friend not my date." she clarified quickly.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to assume." She trailed off awkwardly. "Still so lovely that the two of you are friends. I confess I didn't realise you were close during your time at Hogwarts."

"We weren't really. We've become friends since then." Confirmed Scorpius. "I was an avid reader of _The Beacon_ though, since the first edition and when Rose told me she had been invited here to celebrate, well, I couldn't resist." He finished suavely.

"How wonderful!" She beamed at him, "Well I'm thrilled to have you back for the weekend Scorpius. Thrilled."

They walked through the familiar stone corridors together, the Professor talking at length about the preparations for the weekend and Rose felt a comfortable sense of nostalgia wash over her. As soon as she stepped through the gates of Hogwarts it felt like the world outside ceased to exist somehow. The school was a perfect microcosm that absorbed you in to it's routines, traditions and relationships completely. Within the castle walls she felt so safe, so nurtured, that it was hard to believe that so many members of her family had battled Voldemort on these grounds and yet she knew they had. Her Uncle Fred had died here, as had many others. Hogwarts seemed to her like an impregnable fortress but it had been breached and it made her wonder if the Brotherhood of Taranis had any influence here. It seemed unlikely as she looked round at the familiar stone corridors, hanging tapestries and airy classrooms. Still, in the light of all that she had discovered this week, she didn't feel she could discount it and shivered involuntarily as they paused while the professor stopped to talk to a student.

"Still cold Rose?" Murmured Scorpius softly, his warm breath tickling her ear. "You can have my jacket if you want."

"No I'm fine. Thank-you." She smiled at him. He reached out and squeezed her hand briefly and released it before giving his full attention back to Professor Sinistra. She was amazed at how soothing Scorpius presence was. Although they had known each other for years they hadn't really _known _each other and yet in a few short days after reconnecting their friendship seemed to have blossomed in a way she could never have predicted and she didn't quite understand. If she had been forced to try and articulate it, she might have said that around him her brain, which normally raced at five thousand miles an hour seemed to quiet a little, that they could be peaceful together, and it wasn't uncomfortable. In Rose's universe that was a precious commodity.

"Here" said the professor gesturing to a door, "These are the guest quarters where you will stay while you are with us. I hope you will find everything to your satisfaction. I'll leave you to get yourselves settled. Rose, Matthew Carnaby the current editor of The Beacon was hoping to interview you this evening. Perhaps you could spare him a couple of minutes after dinner in the great hall this evening?"

"Of course! I look forward to it." Said Rose.

"Excellent!" The professor beamed at them, "I'll introduce you to him later. The password for the guest quarters is _Hartshorn_." She turned to leave.

"Professor! Before you go, we were hoping to use the library this weekend, I need a little background information for a story I'm working on. Is that OK?" Rose asked.

"Of course. Our current librarian is Madame Dewey, should you need any help just ask her. I'm sure she'll be more then willing to assist you both."

"Excellent, thank-you Professor." replied Rose gratefully.

"That is no problem. I'll see you both later."

Rose watched her retreat down the corridor as Scorpius murmured _"Hartshorn"_ and the door swung ajar.

They stepped through into a large comfortable room with squashy armchairs and a roaring fire in the grate. The walls were hung with tapestries and paintings and the windows overlooked the courtyard. Their suitcases were standing by the chair nearest the fire. There was a narrow stone corridor leading off to one side and following this round they discovered two bedrooms each with a four poster bed one decorated with red and gold drapes, the other with green and silver.

"Looks like they've already chosen our rooms for us" noted Scorpius.

Rose grinned. "Not necessarily, we can always subvert their expectations and swap."

"Dare you sleep in a room that bears the colours of Slytherin?" Said Scorpius slyly.

She snorted with laughter in response. "It wouldn't be the first time."

He raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"My boyfriend for a few months in sixth year was Darius Brody. Remember?"

Scorpius did remember. Rose had dated the Slytherin quidditch captain for a few months. He had been in the year above them at Hogwarts. The memory rankled with him slightly and he frowned a little. "Oh yes. I remember him. What's he doing now?"

"I don't know. We didn't exactly stay close. I think at one point he played quidditch professionally. What he's doing now I couldn't possibly say. Things didn't really end well between us." She dumped her suitcase in the room with the red and gold drapes. "I'll take the Gryffindor colours. We can rebel against our houses another time."

They spent half an hour unpacking and generally refreshing themselves after what had been an eventful day before reconvening in the main room in front of the fire place. When Scorpius got there Rose was already deeply engrossed in reviewing the paperwork. Parchments and police reports were strewn haphazardly across the coffee table and on the floor.

"If you carry on like this we'll never be able to find anything." Reprimanded Scorpius.

Rose poked her tongue out at him cheekily. "This is how I work. Chaotic but effective."

Scorpius sat down in the armchair opposite her for two minutes shifting uncomfortably, tapping his fingers restlessly on the side of the chair and gazing at the mess she had made. Finally as if he could bear it no longer, he put on his slim wire framed glasses knelt at the table and set about tidying the paperwork and creating a filing system of sorts. Rose looked at him in frank amusement. "I never realised in all our years at Hogwarts how _obsessively_ tidy you are." She remarked.

Scorpius gave her a meaningful look over the rim of his glasses. "And I never realised what a _slob_ you are." he replied caustically.

"Ooh. Looking at me over your glasses and telling me off. Have I been naughty?" She teased.

He flushed ever so slightly and shot her a slightly irritated look. "Yes. I shall have to punish you."

"How do you propose to do that exactly?" She grinned at him over the top of the paperwork. "Break into my house and tidy my bedroom?"

"No." He drawled contemptuously "That slum really _is _a lost cause. Best to just burn that place down and move in with me."

It was Rose's turn to flush now, which she did rather spectacularly. "Slum?" she gasped indignantly leaping to her feet. "You cheeky Sod. I'm going to hex you..." She flailed around. "Where's my bloody wand?"

Scorpius snorted with laughter. "Now you see. If you were tidier..."

"Malfoy!" She growled warningly, turning to grope down the side of the armchair. "Oh bugger! Where has it gone?"

Scorpius really was laughing in earnest now. She stopped turning over paperwork frantically and turned to him furiously. "Are you going to help me or not?" She glared at him. He unfolded himself from his position on the floor and stood opposite her his lips twisted in a roguish smile. She glowered at him, her face flushed and her hands on her hips. He took a step towards her so that they were so close there was only a hairsbreadth between them.

"Well?" She ground out refusing to feel intimidated by his closeness.

He smirked and held her gaze with laughing eyes. He reached a hand out to tuck one of her fiery copper curls back behind her ear and then tugged out her wand that she had absent-mindedly skewered through her messy bun when she first came in the room. She winced slightly and her eyes widened as she saw him produce the wand and hold it up just out of her reach.

"This wand Weasley?" He said teasingly.

"Malfoy!" She made a grab for it and he snatched it out of her reach. "Malfoy! Give me back my wand." He took a step back still holding the wand up where she couldn't get to it.

She grabbed a cushion and threw it in his face before leaping across the room and attempting to wrestle him to the floor. They struggled briefly Scorpius's superior strength versus Rose's pure determination before falling backwards together over the end of one of the armchairs, and toppling in an ungainly somersault where they landed on the floor in an undignified heap.

They both lay there panting, flushed and a little stunned. Scorpius turned to look at Rose. "Are you OK?" he asked breathlessly.

"Yes you little bugger!" She responded looking at him. "You better not have broken my wand."

He grinned. "It's right here." He held it out, she reached out to snatch it and he made as if to jerk it away but then let her take it.

She scowled at him. He gave her a wide teasing smile, his grey eyes sparkling with mirth and she found she couldn't help smiling back. They lay tangled together smiling goofily at each other and she reached a hand toward him and tentatively adjusted his glasses which were slightly askew after the skirmish and brushed a couple of strands of blonde hair out out of his eyes, her hands lingering in his hair.

The affectionate gesture coupled with their intimate position changed the atmosphere between them in a heartbeat. Scorpius's breathing quickened and his eyes widened a little. Rose felt a blush creep over her cheeks and could hear her heart thundering in her ears. She struggled to sit up, breaking the moment. "We... er... better be getting ready to go and eat in the Great Hall." She said looking away and rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly as she scrambled to her feet.

"Uh, yeah." He responded a little dazed. "I'm pretty much ready." he stood wincing slightly.

"I better do my hair." Mumbled Rose scuttling down the corridor without waiting for him to respond.

Scorpius sat down heavily in the armchair, left for five minutes to reflect on the realisation he had been steadily coming to over the last week. He was attracted to Rose Weasley.

Well.

Shit.

o0o

Dinner in the great hall was as spectacular as they had remembered it being. This time though they were seated with the staff. It was strange to be seated next to some of the teachers they had known at school, calling them by the first names and looking out over the four house tables to hear the hubbub of the students.

After dinner Professor Sinistra made her way purposefully to Rose and Scorpius and led them across to the Ravenclaw table. She introduced them to Matthew Carnaby, current editor of The Beacon, a fair haired fifth year with intelligent pale blue eyes. The other students were beginning to file from the great hall and make their way to their respective common rooms. Matthew invited them to sit down and produced a quill and a roll of parchment.

"Thanks for agreeing to do this." he said gratefully to Rose. "If it's OK with you we may as well stay here. I'd invite you back to the Ravenclaw Common room but it'll be really noisy."

"Here is fine, I'm looking forward to this. I don't think I've ever been interviewed to appear in an article before." She smiled encouragingly at him.

"Shall I meet you back at the guest quarters?" suggested Scorpius.

"You can stay if you want." Said Matthew. "I can include you in the interview."

Scorpius shrugged and sat down next to Rose. "I'm not sure what I can add but OK."

"So Rose," continued Matthew, "did you always want to be a journalist?"

"Well, I'd always loved writing. I grew up writing whenever I could it's always been a part of my life. I always knew from when I was a little girl that whatever I did writing would have to be part of my life." She hesitated a little.

"So why a journalist? Why not an author?" he prompted.

"As you know my parents were friends with Harry Potter and one aspect to that story that doesn't always get a lot of coverage is how important the press were. Both the Quibbler and the Daily Prophet at times had a lot of influence over how my Uncle was perceived by the wizarding world at a time of great tribulation. At times that influence was used to promote him at times they tried to smear him and undermine him. On some level I think the stories about that time that I heard as a child must have inspired my passion for journalism. I think I saw the power, the courage and the truth that could be behind good journalism and realised that it was my vocation."

Matthew was hastily scribbling notes down as Rose responded. "So did you arrive at Hogwarts intending to start a school newspaper?" He queried.

"Yes." Rose replied instantly. "I got the idea from a chance remark my Mum made and decided to follow through with it."

"You didn't tell anyone else what you intended?"

"No. It was a guerilla newspaper." She grinned ruefully "Well it wasn't really news per se at that stage. I still have a copy of the first edition and frankly it's a bit embarrassing." She sighed, "At the time though I was so proud of it and so nervous."

"You were worried you would get in trouble for it?"

"Of course! I was afraid they might expel me. I was only a first year and you panic a bit about these things. My Dad always said I have balls of steel though and I did it anyway. It turned out McGonagall thought it was a great idea and the rest, as they say, is history."

"Do you remember the first edition?" Matthew asked glancing at Scorpius.

He nodded. "I do. I think I may have been the first student to read it actually." Matthew looked impressed, "I was the first one down to breakfast that morning, when I noticed it on the table and read it."

"What did you think of it?"

"I thought it was good. Rose has real passion in her writing and I don't think she has anything to be embarrassed about." He looked across at Rose who was looking at him wonderingly "Obviously, she has grown as a writer. Of course at the stage I didn't know whose writing I was reading. None of us did. There was a lot of speculation as to who it was. It was a massive mystery for about two weeks I think, before Rose came forward and admitted it."

"Do you still think Hogwarts needs a newspaper?" Matthew asked directing the question at Rose.

"I believe and hope that it does. All people need an opportunity to be able to express themselves and a school paper allows those who want to to have a voice. It also allows those who, like me, enjoy writing to express themselves and I think that's also really positive. Do you feel that Hogwarts benefits from having a student paper?"

Matthew smiled. "Well obviously I think it's great. I'm the editor though so I think I'm probably a bit biased."

"Whereas I as it's founder am _totally_ impartial." Joked Rose.

Matthew grinned. "Your most famous and probably most controversial article was picked up by the Daily Prophet and published nationally. In it..." He scrabbled around and retrieved a particularly bedraggled looking copy of The Beacon. "you argue that Hogwarts should get rid of the sorting hat. That 'we live in an era where it is rightly unacceptable to exhibit prejudice to someone because of their bloodline. However by persisting to sort people into houses based on a reading of their personalities at a very young age. In doing so risk creating further divisions in the wizarding community and encouraging potentially damaging stereotypes against people." Do you stand by that opinion?"

Rose looked interested. "Absolutely I do. Don't get me wrong I was and am very proud to be sorted into Gryffindor. As I went through the school it just became increasingly apparent to me that there are problems inherent in the system. Firstly I think there is this sense of there being acceptable houses and not acceptable you know? As a first year I felt Gryffindor was the best one, I felt so much pressure to get in that house and that being in Slytherin," she glanced apologetically at Scorpius, "would be disastrous. It was only when I had been at the school a while and made friends with people from different houses that I eventually realised that there were nice people in every house and there were arseholes in every house. Once I realised that it just seemed like the school had created an unnecessary barrier that we had to overcome and sometimes I don't think people do overcome it. They spend their entire lives viewing themselves as Gryffindor or Slytherin or whatever, and that in turn becomes shorthand for making assumptions about somebody's character in place of actually getting to know them."

"So do you think there shouldn't be houses then?" Persisted Matthew.

"I don't mind their being houses, there's nothing wrong with a bit of healthy competition. I just don't think we should be sorted based on a 'reading' of our personalities. After all I may be in Gryffindor but I like to think I am loyal like a Hufflepuff and hopefully intelligent like a Ravenclaw and resourceful and ambitious like a Slytherin and I don't think any of those qualities is intrinsically bad or less valuable to me. If I hadn't been resourceful and ambitious I wouldn't have started up The Beacon no matter how courageous I am capable of being."

"Do you agree Scorpius? I mean your family are famously Slytherin to the core? Do you think we should dispose of the sorting hat?" They both turned and looked at him questioningly.

"I understand where Rose is coming from in that I certainly concede I felt a lot of pressure to be in Slytherin." He replied thoughtfully, "I don't necessarily feel that scarred me in any way though. Ultimately I don't think we need to get rid of the sorting hat. I enjoyed my time in Slytherin and I don't think there is anything wrong with being sorted into a house with people who are like minded. Also I would add that if your parents hadn't been sorted into Gryffindor with Harry Potter, they may not have ended up being friends in order to fight Voldemort in the first place. Then where would the wizarding world be?"

"I could equally suggest that putting a lot of people who are overly ambitious and traditional in Slytherin may actually have created a sub culture within Hogwarts where prejudice against those who are not pure blood was actually allowed to flourish instead of being challenged." Rose rejoined seriously. "If that hadn't been allowed to occur my parents may not have been needed to be called upon."

"Are you suggesting that Voldemort turned evil because he was in Slytherin?" Scorpius responded a little incredulously.

"No not that. But I definitely think that the culture that had been allowed to grow up in Slytherin at that time and that was still around in my parents time allowed prejudice to flourish and certainly made it easier for him to rise to power and to find followers. Not," she amended hastily, "that I'm trying to suggest that all Slytherins were Death Eaters or that all Death Eaters were Slytherins."

"It's my understanding that a lot of them were though." Interpolated Matthew thoughtfully.

Scorpius shifted uncomfortably in his seat and felt himself grow hot. This whole issue was getting entirely to close to home and too painful to discuss, bearing in mind his own family's role in Voldemorts ascendancy. The other two seemed to sense that they had veered into painful territory and an awkward silence descended on the trio.

Rose cleared her throat. "The thing is, I look back now and I realise that I actually missed out on friendships because of my own assumptions about Slytherin. Take my friendship with Scorpius. When we were at school, I assumed he was a rich, ambitious, arrogant, spoiled rich kid but we've become friends since leaving school and I now know that he's not _only_ those things." She caught Scorpius eye and smiled a little cheekily. "He's also loyal, intelligent, kind, can cook amazingly and is terrifyingly neat and organised. We could have been friends at school but we weren't and that's kind of sad." She gazed at Scorpius frankly and he met her look for a long moment his face inscrutable.

Matthew cleared his throat and they both turned to look at him. "Well thanks for that, I think I've got enough to write the article."

"Great! Are you sure there's nothing else you want to ask? We just seem to have gabbled on about the sorting hat a lot." Asked Rose.

"No, it was great. I always wanted to ask you about that, because I remember it being quite controversial at the time." He shook their hands and stood up to take his leave. "I'm sure I'll see you at the party. I know a lot of those who worked on or contributed to The Beacon over the last ten years are intending to come so it should be fun. Nice to meet you both."

They said their good-byes and Scorpius and Rose wandered back along the corridors to the guest quarters. They were both quiet, lost in their own thoughts until Rose said a little bluntly. "I'm sorry about that."

"What?" asked Scorpius.

"That we got on to the subject of Death Eaters and Voldemort and stuff." She stopped awkwardly unsure of how to go on. "I know how frustrating I've found it over the years having to live in the shadow of my parents. I mean I'm so proud of them but I've always found a bit awkward, as if people have expectations of me based solely on who my parents were..." she trailed off uncertainly, not quite willing to look him in the eye, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her jumper.

Scorpius coloured a little and tugged at his collar. "Yeah, same here only not quite so positive in my case eh?"

She shrugged helplessly. He met her eyes and his smiled softly. "I know what you're trying to say but you don't need to. I know some people will make assumptions about my character based on my family's choices during the war. I can't change that but I _am _in charge of my choices. Besides you rightly pointed out being a Slytherin doesn't have to be a negative thing. There are nice Slytherins. My Mum was one and my Dad has changed. He's certainly not the weak and scared boy your parents must have known. The war is never going to be an easy topic, but I can't just stick my head in the sand."

She nodded in relief and returned his smile. Turning together they walked down the corridor in companionable silence.

o0o

Later that evening they made their way to the library to begin researching the Brotherhood of Taranis. They were uncertain where to start as neither had the first clue who or what Taranis was. They began working their way through the large tomes in the reference library. Two hours passed and neither of them had managed to find a single mention of it.

Scorpius leaned back in his chair stretched yawned and glanced across the table at Rose. She was gnawing her lip in concentration as she skim read a copy of Wizarding History in the 18th Century. "I don't know how we're going to manage this." He sighed. "There are so many books and only one weekend to look at them."

Rose looked up her brow wrinkled in concentration. "I know. It does seem a fairly impossible task. We'll just have to hope we get lucky."

He considered for a moment. "You know, we may have to employ a little more strategy then that."

Rose raised her eyebrows quizzically. "What do you suggest?"

He tapped his fingers on the table thoughtfully. "What do we know about the Brotherhood?"

"Virtually nothing. They're covert supposedly wield great power and influence. Your grandfather was a member. Your father believes in their existence. My father doesn't. Your grandfather had a ring that was from them so did Godfrey Bulstrode. There was also a pendent found near the woman's body in the alleyway." Rose listed the information rapidly.

"Presumably the pendent would have been cursed. I'm amazed no muggles were injured retrieving it..." Scorpius added.

"I think they wear gloves for that sort of thing. I doubt anyone would have handled it directly."

"How do you know that?" He asked curiously.

"My mum's parents love crime dramas on the television. So I've watched a few over the years." she admitted.

"Ah." He said thoughtfully. He looked pensive. "You know maybe we are approaching this the wrong way. We're looking for references to the Brotherhood of Taranis directly?"

"So?" Said Rose in confusion.

"Well the common element here is the symbol on the rings and the pendent. Perhaps we'd be better off trying to find the symbol in a book."

Rose looked impressed. "That is _not_ a bad idea." she said slowly. "I wonder if there's a book about that explains symbols."

Scorpius stood up and began pacing through the aisles looking for a book that may be able to help them. Rose came over to join him and together they scoured the shelves.

"Ah here's one!" Said Rose exclaimed finally. "A Complete History of Common Wizarding Symbols and Cyphers, by Cuthbert Binns."

She took it down and flicked through it carefully. Scorpius came and stood peering over her shoulder hardly daring to breathe. "Here!" Rose said excitedly, she ran her finger down the page to the description of the symbol and it's explanation. "The wheel, originally associated in Celtic mythology with the sun god Taranis. In the middle ages his followers would wear these as amulets and would often be buried with them. It was reported by the poet Lucan that his followers would perform human sacrifices in his name, often burning people alive. This symbol is associated in wizarding circles with the Brotherhood of Taranis."

"Well it's not much but at least we know who Taranis is now." said Scorpius a little disappointed.

"Mmm" said Rose distracted. Something was nagging at her and she just couldn't put her finger on what it was.

"Is everything OK Rose?" asked Scorpius.

She picked up the book and looked at it again.

"Rose?" He tried again.

"Yes? Sorry. I just have this nagging feeling that I've missed something." She frowned a little. "Ah well perhaps if we get a good nights sleep it'll come to me."

"Shall we call it a night then?" Said Scorpius yawning. "It's been a long day."

"Yes. Fairly successful though I think. Good idea of yours about the symbol." She replied. "I think I'll take this book with me. I want to have a read of it tonight."

He smiled at her. "You never switch off do you?"

"Never. Don't worry though you'll get used to it."

o0o

**Dutchgirl71 - I'm so glad you think I've got the chemistry between them right, because I find those bits just seem to write themselves! Hopefully you will enjoy this chapter just as much. **

**Dina - I actually agree with you in principle. In fact I would go further and say that I think using confounding and memory charms on anyone wizard or muggle is pretty immoral. I was appalled when for example Hermione confunded McClaggan in HBP. However, messing around with the memory of muggles is something that it is well established that wizards do, throughout the books. I believe they even have obliviators at the Ministry of Magic, I looked it up before I wrote that chapter and found several examples of wizards altering muggle memories. The only time I can think where someone messes with the memory of another person in HP and we are actively told it was wrong is Lockhart and he did that for his own personal gain. I had issues with writing that chapter because in essence I feel quite uncomfortable with it as a mechanism and I think I said at the start of it that I had suffered with writers block - well that was actually why! In the end though, I justified it to myself because Rose and Scorpius are doing it with a higher purpose in mind. If it makes you feel any better I did momentarily think about having Rose as some kind of wizard/computer genius ala willow rosenberg but I just couldn't get that to feel believable.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for the lovely reviews and the follows! I have recovered a little from my cold and so have managed to get this - monster - of a chapter sorted. The structure is a little different from normal in that it starts 24 hours from where the previous chapter left off and then jumps back. Hopefully you'll see what I mean. Anyway I had a lot of fun writing this, even if I do feel ever so slightly evviiilll now. I hope you enjoy it though. Bwahahahaha!**

o0o

Scorpius ran down the dank stone passageway. He could hear the thunder of water in the distance. The stone walls were mossy and moist and the air was damp and cool. He heard the sound of shouting in the distance and picked up his pace skidding slightly on the wet stones underneath his feet. His wand lit the way ahead with a bluish glow and as he rounded a corner he could tell he was coming toward the end of the passage.

Nothing could prepare him for what he would find.

The passageway opened up into a large cavern, it's walls wet from the spray of the waterfall which roared passed the entrance thundering down below into the ground. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, water dripping from them creating treacherous puddles on the limestone floor. All of this he registered in a second his attention drawn to the two figures in front of him. Rose stood with her back to a ledge, behind her a waterfall thundered by. Her wand raised and her dark eyes seeming unnaturally large against her pale skin. Opposite her stood a man, his face swarthy, his long black hair matted and his wand raised toward Rose. His eyes were what you really noticed though. They were dark and wild and there was not a shred of sanity in them. He laughed a high pitched laugh, almost ethereal.

"I serve the Brotherhood and you, witch, will die."

"Rose!" Called Scorpius, his cry bouncing off the cave walls.

She didn't look at him her gaze focused on the man in front of her. "We will hunt you down, every last member." Her voice trembled but with fury or fear Scorpius couldn't tell.

The man laughed again with shrill abandon, the disturbing sound amplifying with the echo in the cave. Scorpius fired a hex at him but it was too late, as the man had spoken he had immediately apparated appearing next to Rose and shoving her hard. Almost in slow motion Scorpius saw a look of surprise pass over her face, she dropped her wand and toppled backward over the ledge disappearing into the icy water that poured relentlessly passed the mouth of the cave, down, down, down, below.

"No!" Shouted Scorpius launching himself toward the edge of the cavern in a vain attempt to catch her.

The man laughed wildly. A jet of light sprung from the end of his wand hitting Scorpius squarely in the chest and slamming him into the wall of the cave. His wand clattered to the floor and rolled out of his reach. Stunned he felt a dull thudding pain in the back of his head and a warm trickle of something he supposed must be blood dripping down the back of his neck. His vision blurred as the strange man stood before him. His head cocked to one side and his white teeth bared in a feral grin.

"Rose..." Scorpius muttered feebly as his vision swam before him.

He felt the man grab his hair and pull his head back roughly, his wand jabbed painfully against the hollow of his neck.

"That little bitch is dead and soon you will be too."

o0o

**24 hours early...**

Rose and Scorpius had trailed back to the guest quarters from the library both deep in thought. Scorpius broke the silence first.

"Do you suppose that the charred corpse in the alleyway was a sacrifice to Taranis?" He mused. "I mean it did say in the book that in ancient days his followers would sacrifice people to him."

"I don't know." replied Rose, "It all seems a little far fetched in this day and age, doesn't it."

"Well we know that a body was found incinerated in an alleyway next to a pendent that belongs to the brotherhood." Scorpius countered. "I've never been a religious person myself, but if some... cult... has risen up around Taranis over the centuries perhaps they do sacrifice people to him."

Rose looked sceptical. "We'll keep that in mind but my instinct is telling me it's not as simple as that. Besides," She scratched her nose thoughtfully, "there's something bothering me about that book."

"Hartshorn" said Scorpius as they came to the entrance of the guest quarters. The door swung open and they wandered in.

Rose yawned and flopped down into the armchair nearest the fire. She pulled open the book and flipped idly through the pages until she came to the picture of the wheel.

Scorpius looked at her. "Whiskey?" He offered.

She rested her head back against the armchair and looked gratefully at him. "You are a lifesaver." She murmured.

He smiled and went to his room to retrieve the bottle he had brought in his suitcase. Returning to Rose he conjured them each a glass and poured some of the amber liquid into each. She took the glass he proffered her and sipped it. "Mmm. That hit's the spot." She swirled the whiskey round in her glass thoughtfully looking at Scorpius.

"Do you always carry whiskey with you?" She asked.

"I had a suspicion it might come in handy on this particular trip." He replied smiling at her. He took a seat on the chair opposite her.

"Always so organised!" She grinned and tucking her legs underneath her and staring down at the book. She fiddled abstractedly with one of the fiery red corkscrew curls that hung round her shoulders. Scorpius found himself looking at her intently. The glow from the fire reflected off her hair, her freckles and expressive brown eyes stood out against her pale skin. She gnawed on her lip slightly concentrating deeply on the book in her hand. He swallowed reflexively, his mind entertaining thoughts that were not altogether _wholesome_. He shifted his position uncomfortably and blushing he looked away.

Rose looked up. "Are you OK?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah." replied Scorpius in a slightly strangled voice.

She gazed at him frankly. "You don't look all right, you look a bit flushed."

"I'm fine." Replied Scorpius sounding irritable to his own ears and praying she would go back to reading her book.

She shrugged and looked back down at the book, he sighed inwardly. Leaning forward he grabbed a sheaf of the paperwork from the coffee table and placed it in his lap. Removing his glasses from his pocket he put them on and tried to focus his mind desperately on something that was not Rose Weasley. Grateful at least that now she shouldn't be able to see the effect she was having on him. He sat there desperately trying to focus on the paperwork but found that his eyes kept drifting across to watch Rose as she read.

Eventually she glanced up again and caught him gazing at her. He looked down, the tips of his ears turning red. "Are you sure your OK?" She asked in concern. "Is something on your mind?"

"Um. No." Said Scorpius defensively stumbling over the words a little and inwardly cursing the fact that for some reason around her he seemed to go from a suave experienced ladies man with more notches on his bed post then sense, to a callow, bumbling fool. His heart sped up a little under her gaze and he tried in vain to concentrate on the words in front of him but they just swam before his eyes and he could hear his pulse thundering in his ears. He stood abruptly surprising them both. "I'm probably going to call it a night. See you in the morning Rose." He held the paperwork strategically in front of him.

"OK." She replied looking a little bemused at his behaviour. "Night."

"Night" muttered Scorpius and practically sprinted from the room to his bedroom. Closing the door behind him he stripped off quickly and ran to the shower. "Fuck." He whispered to himself as the water hit him. He rested his forehead on the cool white tiles as water vapour rose around him.

Relief.

o0o

When he awoke the next morning he was feeling a lot less tense as he wandered into the shared lounge still wearing his pyjama bottoms. It was evident that Rose had fallen asleep on the armchair surrounded by parchment, police reports and newspaper clippings. The textbook lay open across her chest and her head rested against the side of the high backed chair. The fire smouldered in the grate and pale sunlight sliced through a gap in the heavy drapes. He gazed at her affectionately before crouching down on his haunches in front of her gentle touching her arm.

"Rose." He called softly.

She didn't stir.

"Rose." He called again grasping her arm a little more firmly.

She mumbled something unintelligible in her sleep but still didn't open her eyes. He leaned forward and cupped her face in one hand, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. "Rosie." He called again a little more loudly. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him startled. "Time to wake up." He said smirking a little holding her gaze.

"Scorpius?" She said huskily, her eyes heavy with sleep. He removed his hand. "Merlin." She said shifting her position a little stiffly and stretching. "Always a bad idea to fall asleep in a chair." She glanced across at him and then averted her eyes quickly.

He sat opposite her. "How did you get on last night. Work out what was bothering you about that book?"

"Nope." She replied staring fixedly at a spot just to the left of the fireplace. "It'll come though."

"Maybe." Shrugged Scorpius. "Or maybe you're just going mental." He teased.

"Oi!" She exclaimed throwing a cushion across the room and hitting him squarely in his bare chest. "I'll have you know my reporters intuition is never wrong."

His eye's sparkled playfully but he assumed a haughty expression and replied. "Never wrong? Really? Are you sure? Because in seven years of reading The Beacon and three years of reading your Prophet articles I'm sure I could come up with something. Ah yes..." He paused and quirked an insolent eyebrow at her. "Wasn't there the small matter of Honoria Gressingham" He paused letting the fateful name sink in.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "OK. It is _almost _never wrong." She amended through gritted teeth.

He sighed in mock disdain. "Ah! How reassuring."

She stood and stalked across the room and rested her hands one one each arm of his chair leaning in closely so that her long hair was just tickling his chest. His breathing quickened. Her eyes glittered dangerously and she bent forward and whispered in his ear. "My _instinct_ told me that something was wrong with the Bulstrode verdict. My _instinct _told me that the body in the alleyway was connected to the Bulstrode. My _instinct_ told me to trust you. Tell me Malfoy, was my_ instinct _wrong?"

He met her challenging look but refused to reply. She leant back her eyes still glimmering with barely repressed anger and something else that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"I'm going to go and get ready for breakfast." She pulled back completely and stood, stretching again. "Put a fucking shirt on Malfoy." She swept from the room without another word.

Scorpius leant his head back in his chair and released a breath he hadn't even realised he was holding.

He was totally and utterly screwed.

o0o

They made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Copies of the tenth anniversary edition of The Beacon were available on all the tables and they each took one to read over breakfast. Rose quite naturally turned to read her interview with Matthew Carnaby.

"Oh fuck! Fucking hell." She hissed between her teeth as she read.

Scorpius looked at her curiously and a couple of the teachers on the other side of her gave her disapproving glances. He had never seen her blush so furiously and he turned to read the article to see what have caused such her such consternation. The first part of the article was fine. Pretty much reflected their initial conversation verbatim. As he read came to the problematic paragraph.

"_When asked about the article that brought her national recognition in the Daily Prophet, Rose st__ood__ by her opinion that __although she would be happy for Hogwarts to retain houses, she feels the sorting hat should go. Her boyfriend Scorpius Malfoy was quick to disagree."_ Scorpius blinked rapidly and continued to read, skimming through the article before coming to another damning line. _"This reporter had been sceptical about the idea of abolishing the sorting hat __and __looking at how happy Rose is with Scorpius as they gaze into each others eyes, I can't hel__p but feel that__ if the daughter of two famous Gryffindor __war heroes__ can find love and happiness with the famous Slytherin heir to the Malfoy fortune, the wizarding world may not have much to worry about.__'_

Scorpius glanced across at Rose. Her face was white with fury and the copy of The Beacon was clenched in her fist. He leaned toward her. "Rose!" He whispered urgently.

She looked at him. "Did you see what that presumptuous little shit wrote!" She whispered furiously.

"Yes but..."

"I'm going to kill him." She hissed. "I'm going to avada him right here, right now in the hall."

Scorpius put a placating hand on her arm and she jumped as if she had been scalded and shot him a warning glance.

"Calm down Rose." He said reasonably. "He's not the first person to assume we were dating."

"Shut up." She snapped back rising from her seat as she saw Matthew coming into the hall.

She stomped across to him, Scorpius in close pursuit. Confronting Matthew before he could sit down she said in icy tones. "Matthew a word?"

He looked up a little surprised. "Sure, hey have seen the article this morning?"

"Oh yes." She replied in a voice of dangerous calm.

Matthew faltered as he took in her murderous gaze.

Scorpius stood between them and raised his hands in a conciliatory gesture. "Rose just calm..."

Rose ignored him grabbed Matthew by the arm and marched him out of the great hall with Scorpius hot on their heels.

As soon as they had gone a little way down the corridor she exploded.

"How could you write that we are dating?!" She shouted at Matthew.

He blanched. "Is it a secret? Oh Merlin. I'm so sorry. I didn't..."

"It's not a secret! It's just not fucking true. We are friends! Friends! That is all!" She threw her hands in the air in exasperation.

Matthew looked genuinely confused. "But... your so... I mean... you just... are you sure?" He finished with an unflattering note of incredulity.

Scorpius grabbed Rose's arms to restrain her as she tried to reach for her wand in rage her eyes flashing. "Am I sure?" Screeched Rose struggling against Scorpius iron grasp. "Am I sure?! Let go of me Scorpius!"

"Calm down Rose. They can issue a retraction in the next issue. Can't you Matthew?" He said pointedly, not releasing Rose.

"Yes! Merlin yes. I'm so sorry. It's just you seemed to be so... and he's here as your plus one." he trailed off. "It didn't even occur to me that you weren't!" He said in a small voice.

"Go on." said Scorpius curtly nodding in the direction of the Great Hall. "Be more careful next time." He added at Matthews swiftly retreating figure.

Once Matthew had disappeared from sight he released a furious Rose Weasley. "Don't you dare restrain me like that again!" She ground out jabbing him in the chest before turning on her heel and storming off down the corridor.

"Where are you going?" he called after her. She didn't reply. Best to give her some time to cool off he reflected, debating whether to face the curious gazes of the students and staff or skulk back to their shared rooms. Turning he decided against either and jamming his hands in his pockets he decided to take a long walk round the castle.

o0o

Rose stomped back to the quarters she shared with Scorpius feeling a mixture of fury and mortification. Growling the password out she practically ran across the room to her bedroom flung open the door and slammed it behind her. She kicked a chest of drawers repeatedly several times, swearing loudly before flinging herself on her bed. She surprised herself by bursting into hot angry tears and buried her face in her pillow.

It was a full five minutes before she calmed herself down and swiping furiously at her eyes she sat up in the bed crossing her legs and hugged a large squashy feather pillow. She was angry with Matthew for making such presumptuous assumptions and publishing them. She was angry with Scorpius for being so damn cool and unflappable in the face of it, the article was about him too and he didn't seem to care at all. She grasped the pillow more tightly and rested her chin on top.

That wasn't all though. She had felt it seething away beneath the surface for the past few days but had been steadfastly ignoring it with difficulty. The lingering looks between herself and Scorpius, the casual touches and hugs that went on just a little too long.

She knew she was attracted to him and had been refusing to admit it to herself. She had asked for his friendship and he had given it before they knew much about each other and now here they were a week later embroiled in a mystery that should be taking up all their attention and instead she was thinking about how he looked like with his shirt off this morning. Lean, tall, taut muscles, tousled blonde hair and a wry smile. She bit her lip. Even if he felt the same way, they needed to focus on job at hand not get distracted by each other. Besides she thought, sighing ruefully, her relationship history was not exactly inspiring and there was a large part of her that really did like Scorpius. If she tried to act on her feelings it was entirely likely that her own ineptitude would fuck up any relationship and she would then lose the friendship into the bargain.

She blew her nose on a screwed up tissue and sniffed dolefully. Scorpius was hardly on the look out for a relationship anyway so it was all a bit of a non issue. Still the seering embarrassment of seeing their names linked in print, of having to deny everything to the family and friends who she knew, with gloomy inevitability, would read it, when in fact part of her would like the article to be true. That _was_ humiliating.

There was a knock at the door. She stiffened momentarily. The knock sounded again and she heard Scorpius voice call her softly. "Rose. Rose are you all right?"

"She glanced across at a mirror hanging on her wall. She was dishevelled and blotchy, still there was no point standing on her pride when she basically owed him an apology. "Come in." She said reluctantly.

Scorpius pushed the door tentatively ajar and stepped through the door. He looked at her concern evident in his face. "How are you?" He asked seeming reluctant to come too close in case she was still volatile.

"OK, I guess..."

He moved a bit closer and observed that her face was tear stained. "Rose!" He said gently and strode across to sit next to her on the bed. "Surely people thinking we're dating isn't that bad!" He said lightly rubbing her back and without thinking she put her head on his shoulder and gave a watery chuckle.

"It's not that it's just..." she trailed off. Unwilling to explain herself.

He didn't press her, but dropped a kiss on her hair and squeezed her shoulders. "Carnaby just about shat himself when you went for him." He said with a small grin.

She laughed throatily. "Oh Circe. When my family gets wind of this we are never going to hear the end of it!"

He paused, "I didn't think you had any cousins left at Hogwarts. So how would they?"

"My Mum always asks them to send her a copy of the Beacon. I can only imagine what kind of response my Dad is having to that article as we speak." She said ruefully.

"Perhaps he'll be pleased. I know you think it's the end of the world but some people think I'm quite a catch." Scorpius said attempting to lighten her mood.

"Yes, but I haven't caught you." She countered.

He paused and took a very deep breath, he seemed to hesitate but then leant in so there foreheads touched and said softly. "I'm sure you could, if you wanted to."

They sat in silence. His words hovering between them. A tacit invitation to take this friendship to the next level. Rose screwed her Gryffindor courage to the sticking place and leaned in brushing the lightest of kisses against his lips. "Maybe" she whispered softly, "after we've finished working on this story. I will." She met his intense gaze and he raised his hand and trailed a finger down her cheek, tracing the tracks of her tears.

There was a tapping noise at the window and they both sprang apart a little guiltily. Rose stood and drew back the curtains a small owl carrying a letter flittered anxiously on the window sill. Rose sighed audibly. "Pig!" She said reluctantly, "I'm guessing my Dad saw the article."

"That was quick!" Commented Scorpius.

She let the little owl in and took the letter and tore it open. "It's my Dad." She mumbled bleakly. "Wants to have a word with me urgently. Oh well he can flip out another time." She screwed the letter up and tossed the letter toward the waste-paper basket. It bounced off the rim and landed on the floor.

"Never going to make a chaser Weasley." he observed.

"Throwing something in the bin is..." She trailed off looking thunderstruck. Without a second word she hurried out of the room.

Scorpius followed her curiously.

"I've got it!" She crowed excitedly grabbing the book and shoving it toward him. "See?"

"Not really." Said Scorpius blankly.

"Bins!" Said Rose cryptically.

Scorpius looked confused.

"Professor Binns! He wrote the book." She gestured at the spine of A Complete History of Common Wizarding Symbols and Cyphers.

Scoripus's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"Come on!" She said grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the door. "We have to go and speak to him."

o0o

They found Professor Binns asleep in his office on the fifth floor. After repeated knocking failed to rouse him they Rose burst through the door impatiently and he spluttered and woke up.

"Who is it? What's going on?" He said groggily. "Who are you?"

Rose rolled her eyes impatiently. "Rose Weasley? You taught me for five years."

He looked at her blankly.

"Scorpius Malfoy." Scorpius offered. "You taught me too."

The professor looked at them irritably. "Do you know how long I've been teaching at this school?" He groused. "You can't expect me to remember every single student."

"Fine." Replied Rose tersely. "You don't have to remember us but you do have to help us."

"Please Professor." added Scorpius shooting a warning look at Rose. She rolled her eyes again.

"Fine. Please could you help us Professor Binns."

The Professor gave them both a long look. "Quite a charmer, isn't she." He said to Scorpius.

"She has her moments Sir." Replied Scorpius flashing a broad smile. "We really could do with your help though."

He looked at them both and then sighed testily. "Fine, fine. I can spare you ten minutes."

"Thank you so much Sir." Said Rose acerbically, "For fitting us into your busy schedule."

Professor Binns was either oblivious or chose to ignore her. "Make it quick then." he snapped.

"You wrote this?" Said Rose putting the book on his desk.

He glanced down at it. "Yes." he admitted slowly. "Many years ago. Why?"

Scorpius flicked through the book and found the page with the picture of the wheel. "Can you tell us more about this symbol."

The professor looked at the picture for a long moment a strange look passed over his face. "There's nothing much to tell that isn't in the book." He said briefly.

Rose snorted in disbelief. "Professor. I read this book last night. From cover to cover. In it you go into _excruciating_ detail on every other symbol, sign and cypher known to the wizarding world. This one gets three sentences. Why?"

The professors gaze hardened. "That's all there is to say."

She looked at him stonily. "I don't believe you. Tell us what you know about the Brotherhood of Taranis."

He laughed hollowly. "My dear child. The Brotherhood of Taranis is a myth. Nothing more."

Rose sat down in an armchair opposite him and leant back in it. "Professor, you may not have been paying attention to me when I was your student, but I like to feel that I was paying attention to you. You have no interest in legends or myths. If the Brotherhood of Taranis wasn't real I don't think for one moment you would have bothered to include it in your book. You care about facts not fiction."

"You may think that Miss Weatherly. The fact remains I have nothing more to say on the matter."

Rose glared at him. Scorpius leant forward. "Please Professor. We have reason to believe that they are real. That they may even have been involved in the death of my mother. Please. If you know something. Tell us."

The Professor shifted a little uncomfortably under Scorpius pleading gaze. An age seemed to pass.

"Come on Scorpius." Said Rose eventually. "There's no point." She got up and walked toward the door. Reluctantly Scorpius turned to follow her.

"Mr Malfoy!" Came the professors wheezing voice. "Wait." He passed through his desk and hovered in front of them. "There is not much I can tell you but if you must know more. You might try speaking with Rudolph Hemmingway."

Rose and Scorpius looked at each other in confusion. "Who is he?" asked Rose, "Where can we find him."

"He lives up in a cottage, Ingleborough, Yorkshire. You should be able to find it easily enough. More then that I couldn't possibly say." Said the professor, not quiet meeting their eyes. "Now if you will excuse me."

"Thank-you Professor." Said Scorpius uncertainly.

"Don't thank me yet." He muttered ominously and turning he hovered back to his desk muttering distractedly under his breath.

o0o

They had originally intended to join the go into Hogsmeade that afternoon but they were both too preoccupied with Professor Binns reluctantly given information to consider doing that. In the end they agreed to walk to Hogsmeade apparate to Rudolph Hemmingway's cottage in Ingleborough and return later in the afternoon in time for the party. They returned to their quarters and dressing as warmly as possibly set out to Hogsmeade immediately. In a very short while they were apparating and hoping against hope that they would be able to find Rudolph Hemmingway's Cottage.

They had assumed that Ingleborough would prove to be a village or a town but they were wrong. It was a mountain. Although they were warmly dressed neither of them could have predicted just how cold it would be. They appeared with a _pop_ and Rose staggered forward a little stumbling over tussocky grass. The ground might have been boggy if it wasn't quite so cold. Instead it was hard as iron. In the distance they could see a small ramshackle cottage that almost seem to lean into the chill wind which blew across the mountainside.

Rose shivered and was grateful that she had at least put on several layers so that it would not be necessary to share Scorpius coat again. "That must be it" She said pointing a finger at the only sign of life in a bleak and desolate place.

Scorpius nodded grimly and they set out carefully over the treacherous ground, picking their way carefully over the limestone rocks that seemed to scar the mountainside. As they approached the cottage they could see a small light in the downstairs window. It really did look very weather beaten, the paint was faded and peeling off the walls and one of the windows was cracked. Were it not for the light in the window it would be difficult to believe the place was not abandoned.

Approaching the door Scorpius rapped firmly on it. There was no reply. He knocked again a little more firmly. There was still no response. Out of interest he tried the door handle and surprisingly the door swung open.

Rose and Scorpius glanced at each other.

"Hallo!" Called Rose. "Mr Hemmingway?"

They stepped into the house, wands raised. Both of them instinctively felt that something was not _right_ with this place. The room they entered looked as if somebody had turned it upside down searching for something. The furniture was overturned, pictures crooked on the wall. Even a threadbare rug on the floor had been pulled up.

"Somebody has been looking for something." Said Rose a little unnecessarily.

"Yes. I wonder what though." They paused at the foot of some steep wooden steps. The house was deadly quiet.

"I'll check upstairs." Said Scorpius in a low voice. "You see what's down here."

Rose thought back to the couple of horror movies that herself and Hugo had watched late at night at Grandma Grangers house and nearly said that she thought this was an appalling idea, but then thinking better of it, she nodded.

Scorpius made his way upstairs as quietly as he could. There were three rooms at the top of the cottage. The first, a bathroom was empty, although someone had apparently taken the trouble to rifle through the bathroom cabinet.

The second was a small bedroom. It was obviously being used as a study and Scorpius could see a desk covered in parchment that had clearly been ransacked as well. He peered out of the small grimy bedroom window which looked out onto the back garden. A small patch of scrubby land with a little washing line. Beyond the garden was a gushing stream which disappeared into the distance. He twitched the dirty curtain back across the window and rifled through some of the paperwork on the desk. Nothing immediately interesting was obvious.

His wand still raised he carefully pushed the door of the second room. It was locked. He whispered a charm and the lock clicked open. A terrible smell assaulted his senses and he recoiled feeling a wave of nausea wash over him. His hand clamped to his mouth he peered into the room which was dark and gloomy. Their appeared to be a man sitting upright in the bed.

"Mr Hemmingway?" Scorpius said softly his hand stilled clasped to his face. There was no response. "_Lumos_" he muttered and the tip of his wand glowed eerily. It was all Scorpius could do not scream. There in the bed was a man, his face pale, grey and lifeless, his mouth twisted in a scream of anguish, his pupils fixed in an expression of horror. His arm, which was hanging out of the bed, was beginning to putrefy, the skin sloughing away, which accounted for the horrific smell.

Scorpius staggered back trying not to gag. He had never seen a dead body before and certainly not one as grotesque as this. He came out of the room and crouched in the corridor his head between his knees trying to stop his stomach from churning. Whoever this person was, they hadn't died of natural causes.

Suddenly he heard a loud thud and a cry. His head snapped up.

o0o

Rose gripped her wand tightly and peered round the dimly lit space. There was nobody here and apart from the sound of Scorpius moving around upstairs it was deathly silent. There was a door at the far side of the living room and she picked her way across the debris to reach it. She pushed it open and found herself in a small kitchen, with a dirty sink, piled high with dishes. A small table and chair had been overturned and the whole place seemed grimy and uncared for. It overlooked the back garden and she peered out of the window looking into the pale winter sunshine to see if there was anything of interest out there. There appeared to be an outhouse adjoining the kitchen which she would have to investigate as well. A sudden scratching noise behind her made her jump. She wheeled round her heart thumping in her chest and her wand raised, only to see a small, scrawny ginger cat picking it's way across to her mewling piteously.

"Oh poor Puss." She said sympathetically. "Just a minute, I'm sure I can conjure you something." Crouching down she conjured a bowl of milk and some food for the cat. It sprang forward immediately and began to lap hungrily at the milk. Rose stroked it's fur gently and it purred loudly.

"Where's your master Puss? Eh?" She said gently.

Just then she heard a loud thump, the door leading from the outhouse to the garden had been thrown back. Jumping up she saw a dark haired man running across the back garden and leaping over the wall. "Oi!" She called running to the kitchen door and throwing it open. "Come back! I want a word with you."

The man didn't look back but continued to run and without a second thought Rose followed him. He followed the path of the stream which led away from the house, leaping over the stones agilely. Rose ran as quickly as her legs would carry her slipping over the unfamiliar ground and tripping across roots and clumps of rough grass. She kept him in her sights as best she could. Scorpius must have heard the commotion, he would be out and following her soon surely?

The man had the advantage though, he appeared to know the terrain much better and in fact he seemed to disappear from sight completely as he rounded the crest of a hill that had a large rocky outcrop atop it. The stream had widened and was now virtually a river slicing it's way through the wild landscape.

Leaning forward and breathing hard she swore loudly. She had run some distance from the cottage now and from her position she could just make out Scorpius making his way quickly across the ground toward her. She waved at him and gestured to show she was going over the hill to the other side. He appeared to be calling to her but she couldn't hear his response very well. As she made her way past the rocky prominence she realised that the man had not disappeared into thin air. There was a gap in the rocks and a roughly hewn path which appeared to lead underground. He must have followed that path, she paused a moment biting her lip. She should really wait for Scorpius, but if she left it too long he might escape.

Sighing she slashed a mark into the rocky opening with her wand, where Scorpius would be sure to see it and follow her. Then as quickly and quietly as she could she made her way down the dark, dank passageway. It was cool, airless and quiet. She muttered '_lumos' _ and her wand lit the tight passageway with a bluish glow. The only sound she could hear was her heart thundering in her ears and her own shallow breathing. She continued down the passageway slowly. Just then on the edge of her hearing she could make out a noise, as she moved forward it got louder and louder. The passageway opened out onto a large cave. To her right it was complete darkness she had no way of knowing how far back the cave extended. To her left it opened out to reveal a ledge and beyond it a massive waterfall, which fell tumultuously passed the entrance. She walked quietly over to the edge and peered down, immediately wishing she hadn't. The drop must be two hundred metres or more and the water crashed relentlessly on to the rocks below. She stepped back from the edge feeling particularly vulnerable. A noise behind her made her head snap round.

Coming out from the shadows came the man she had been chasing. She gulped nervously.

"Are you Rudolph Hemmingway?" She said trying to quell the nervousness in her voice. He stepped forward into the dim light afforded by the cave and she shuddered. He looked wild, almost feral and she noticed as he moved through the shadows that carved into his forearm was a symbol of the Brotherhood of Taranis. He gazed at her through heavy lidded eyes a callous smile playing on his lips.

Rose felt her legs tremble but gathering herself she raised her wand to confront him. "No further." She said in the strongest voice she could muster. "Tell me who you are." He walked toward her with a distinct air of menace. She flicked her wand and a curse fired toward him. He deflected it easily but stopped a distance from her.

"I want to know about the Brotherhood." Rose said boldly. "Tell me what you know or you'll be sorry." It sounded weak to her own ears. "I mean it. I have the power to make a lot of trouble for you."

He laughed wildly and licked his lips. "Who are you to threaten me?"

"_My_ name is not important." She said stalling. "Are you Mr Hemmingway or not."

He laughed manically. "I serve the Brotherhood and you, witch, will die."

She vaguely heard Scorpius call her name in the distance but her focus was all on the man before her.

Fury and fear coursed through her. "We will hunt you down, every last member." She spat out.

She saw Scorpius fire a curse at the man, but he had apparated before it could hit him. She was about to sigh in relief when he re-materialised directly in front of her and before she could respond he had pushed her hard.

Her wand fell out of her hand in shock and she flew backwards over the ledge into the icy water and down into the depths below.

o0o

**So that's it. Rose and Scorpius die and the Brotherhood are never brought to justice. I hope you enjoyed reading it.**

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**NOT!**

** Hopefully I will be able to get another chapter out soon. Liked it? Loathed it? Constructive Criticism? How about you leave a little old review. It will make me happy and it may even make me write quicker. :-)**


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